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Commodities
19 Jan 2022
Oil Price Highest Since 2014 as Fire on Pipeline in Turkey Tightens Supply Outlook
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On Wednesday, oil prices rose for a fourth day after a fire on a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey briefly stopped the oil supply, increasing concerns about an obvious tight supply outlook for crude oil.
Brent crude futures rose 80 cents, or 0.9%, to $88.31 a barrel at 1035 GMT, adding to a 1.2% jump in the previous session. The benchmark contract touched $89.05, its highest since Oct. 13, 2014, Reuters data reported. While the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.06, or 1.2%, to $86.49 a barrel. WTI earlier jumped to $87.08, its highest since Oct. 9, 2014.
A senior security source confirmed that the explosion that set off the fire on the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras was caused by a falling power pylon, and not by any attack.
The mentioned pipeline is carrying crude out of Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to the Turkish port of Ceyhan for export.
Market analysts are forecasting tight oil supply in this year of 2022, driven in part by demand holding up despite the spread of the new COVID variant - Omicron, with some predicting a price of $100 a barrel.
©Photo: Nabil Al-Jourani/Associated Press
