U.S. oil and gas rigs are down by 14% over the last year, a showing of supplies tightening as oil prices climb higher as demand soars.
The United States lost five rigs from last week’s count, with four regions losing one to two rigs per area, according to Baker Hughes’s rig count. But in comparison to last year’s count, the U.S. is down 109 rigs.
This comes as oil prices edged higher on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed at $83.04, up from $82.89 a week before and a significant increase from $75.75 last month.
The International Energy Agency forecasted increasing global demand and tightening supplies, pushing prices into the seventh straight week of gains, the longest streak since 2022.
“Crude prices are resuming their bullish ascent as energy traders remain overly confident the oil market will remain tight,” said Ed Moya, a senior market analyst with Foreign Exchange Corporation Oanda. “The oil rally is poise for a seventh straight week of gains and it doesn’t seem like exhaustion is settling in yet. When the market gets complacent, sometimes that is when you get a decent pullback, but for now, it seems any oil dips will be bought.”
This comes as output cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia set the foundation for a sharp decline in inventories, which the IEA projected could raise prices even higher.
Source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/