Oil futures traded slightly higher Friday, remaining on track for weekly gains, on optimistic expectations for crude demand.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery
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“Oil prices are finding tailwind from the clear signs that demand is making a solid recovery,” wrote analysts at Commerzbank, in a note.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, and the International Energy Agency are looking for oil demand to snap back. The IEA, which now sees demand back at pre-crisis levels in a year, had previously not expected that to happen until 2023, the analysts noted.
OPEC+ agreed earlier this week to proceed with a timetable that will see it continue to ease output curbs through July.
“If OPEC+ does not step up its supply any further after July, the oil market risks tightening noticeably in the second half of the year,” the Commerzbank analysts wrote.