Oil closes at highest level since January-end, Brent above $79

Oil drilling rigs

Oil turned higher today, Feb. 7, after Total Energy joined energy companies such as Shell and BP in avoiding the waters of the Red Sea and as investors assessed expectations of increased global demand for oil.

Brent crude oil for April delivery rose 0.8%, or 62 cents, to close at $79.21 per barrel, the highest level at the end of the session since Jan. 31 ($80.55).

WTI crude for March delivery increased by 0.75%, or 55 cents, to $73.86 per barrel, which is the highest contract settlement since the end of January ($75.85).

Haitham Al-Ghais, Secretary-General of OPEC, said that the global oil market will need investments of nearly $14 trillion, or about $610 billion annually, until 2045, in order to meet the growing demand for energy, which is expected to rise by 23%.

The International Energy Agency expects India to become the largest source of global oil demand growth, supported by industrial expansion, and the strong growth of its economy, population and demographics, to reach 6.6 million barrels per day by 2030.

Crude price gains were limited by the Energy Information Administration data, which showed a rise in US crude inventories by about 5.5 million barrels during the week ended Feb. 2, while expectations indicated an increase of 1.7 million barrels.