Oil Rises On OPEC Optimism

Crude oil prices strengthened further this week after OPEC+ signaled its growing optimism about the balance between demand and supply, and confirmed that it planned to continue increasing production. Bloomberg quoted Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman as saying that crude oil demand “has shown clear signs of improvement” and Russia’s Alexander Novak as noting a “gradual economic recovery.” The improvement in demand is what is keeping prices higher despite expectations of much more crude oil coming from Iran…