Oil surges in early trade as supply concerns persist

19 Mar 2024 , 10:35 AM

On Thursday, oil prices marginally increased, maintaining gains from the previous session that coincided with indications of a tighter supply.

For the following month, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) increased by 17 cents to $78.08 per barrel. The May contract had risen 14 cents to $77.45 per barrel.

The April delivery of Brent oil saw a 14-cent increase to $83.17 per barrel, while the May contract saw a 13-cent increase to $82.24 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the price of oil increased by 1%, and oil contracts linked to near-term delivery reached their largest premium in several months.

After a string of disruptions previously reduced U.S. refinery utilisation rates to the lowest level in two years, refinery restarts in the country are strengthening demand.
After losing power on February 1, BP’s 435,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Indiana is expected to resume full output in March, according to individuals familiar with plant operations.

After a weather-related power loss, TotalEnergies’ 238,000 bpd refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is still functioning at a minimum capacity, but the company is still striving to complete a restart.

According to a Reuters survey, analysts predict that U.S. refinery run rates increased to 81.5% of total capacity last week from 80.6% the week before.

Due to a U.S. vacation, official data from the Energy Information Administration is not expected until Thursday at 1600 GMT.

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