Oil rises to highest since 2014 as Saudi wants a price hike and US stocks draw
Saudi Arabia is seeking an oil price of $80 to $100 per barrel as US commercial crude stocks decline towards their five-year average
London — Oil prices rose on Thursday to their highest since late 2014 as US crude inventories declined, moving closer to five-year averages, and after sources told Reuters top exporter Saudi Arabia is seeking to push oil prices higher. Brent crude oil futures rallied as high as $74.44 a barrel, the strongest since November 27 2014, the day that oil cartel Opec decided to pump as much as it could to defend market share, sending the price to a low of $27 just more than a year later. Brent futures were at $74.35 a barrel at 8.23am GMT, up 87c from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 71c to $69.18 a barrel. WTI had earlier hit $69.27, its best level since December 2 2014. "Oil prices continued to climb on Thursday as a decline in US crude inventories and commentary from Saudi Arabia that it would be happy to see crude rise to $80 or even $100 helped boost prices," RBC said in a note. Opec and other major producers, including Russia, started to withhold ...
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