Oil prices near three-year highs thanks to Opec cuts and healthy demand
London — Brent crude oil dipped on Tuesday, but remained near $70 a barrel, a level not seen since 2014’s dramatic market slump. Prices have been driven up by oil production curbs in oil cartel Opec nations and Russia, as well as strong demand thanks to healthy economic growth. Brent crude futures fell 54c, or 0.77%, to $69.72 per barrel by 10.18am GMT. Traders said Brent was well supported overall at around $70. Brent hit $70.37 on Monday, a high from December 2014, when markets were at the beginning of a three-year decline. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.18 a barrel, down 12c, or 0.19%. WTI hit a December 2014 peak of $64.89 a barrel in early trading. "The market is hitting technical resistance. We need to see a confirmation of a true break past $70 a barrel," Olivier Jakob of PetroMatrix consultancy said. "There is lots of speculative length in WTI at the moment ... the force is from the US market right now so we need the direction they give coming bac...
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