Crude oil futures on the New York Stock Exchange reached $83 per barrel on Friday morning, thereby offsetting an earlier decline when the dollar was weakening. This increase comes as the supply of the largest American oil storage hub dries up amid an energy crisis which has led to foreign buyers looking for cheaper barrels.
Over the past two weeks, prices have reached unprecedented levels of volatility, particularly with Cushing stockpiles plummeting to critically low levels.
Earlier this week, oil rallied to its highest level since 2014, as concerns skyrocketed due to market demand gradually overtaking supply levels. According to the United States government, citizens should expect gasoline prices to remain high going into the new year, particularly since OPEC decided to halt its own production. This would lead to sustained supply shortages in the near future.
David Martin, head of commodity-desk strategy at BNP Paribas, remains confident that market conditions will remain tight for the foreseeable future. “What I see is a market correctly pricing very tight conditions, and conditions that will get tighter.”
