Daily Times

U.S. oil prices grew slightly on Friday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned of a tighter supply outlook this year. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery increased by 36 cents, or 0.44 percent, to settle at 82.52 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery edged up 22 cents, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 86.31 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. World oil demand will climb by 2 million barrels per day in 2023 to a record high of 101.9 million barrels per day, said a monthly report on oil market issued by the IEA on Friday. Extra cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners will push world oil supply down 400,000 barrels per day by end-2023, said the IEA. The surprise supply cuts announced by OPEC and its partners on April 2 risk aggravating an expected oil supply deficit in the second half of 2023 and boosting oil prices at a time of heightened economic uncertainty, even as industrial activity slows in the world’s largest economies and production growth outside the alliance appears robust, warned the IEA report.