WTI oil opens with a 0.95% increase, reaching $81.46 per barrel.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil started the week with a 0.95% increase, reaching $81.46 per barrel, continuing the upward trend from last week.

WTI futures contracts for delivery in April were up $0.45 compared to the previous session’s close.

U.S. crude oil hit new highs for the year last week and gained 3.47% for the week overall.

The rise is partly due to the solid weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

While the International Energy Agency (IEA) revised upwards its demand estimate for 2024 and lowered its supply estimate, raising concerns of a physical market deficit this year.

Furthermore, in Ukraine, forces from that country attacked several refining facilities in Russia, while tensions in the Middle East escalate.

Regarding the global supply, Iraq will reduce its crude oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day in the coming months to offset any increase above its OPEC+ quota in January and February, the Ministry of Oil said on Monday.

Iraq is committed to the voluntary cuts agreed with the OPEC+ group of oil-exporting countries and is coordinating with secondary sources to reflect the export cuts in its upcoming OPEC+ reports, the ministry said in a statement.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, de facto led by Saudi Arabia, and its allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, have implemented a series of production cuts since late 2022 to support the market. A new cut for the first quarter came into effect in January, and earlier this month it was extended to cover the second quarter.

Oil has found support in 2024 amid increasing geopolitical tensions and attacks by the Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea, although concerns about economic growth have weighed on it.