Azeri Light crude exceeds $62

Azeri LT CIF crude oil, exported from Azerbaijan to the world markets, increased $0.61 (+0.99%), settling at $62.30 per barrel, Report informs.

The lowest price for Azeri Light was recorded on April 21, 2020 ($15.81), and the all-time high of $149.66 was fixed in July 2008.

Just as oil is on an incredible run, doubters are starting to pop up.

Brent crude futures hit a new 52-week high of $61.09 per barrel on Tuesday, finishing in the black for the eighth straight day. Brent, the international benchmark, is up 10% over that period and 18% for the year, rebounding faster than almost anyone on Wall Street had expected last year. The latest price boom has been sparked by Saudi Arabia’s surprise decision in January to unilaterally reduce output by an additional 1 million barrels—on top of cuts imposed by OPEC.

But the U.S. government agency that tracks energy markets thinks those gains may be ephemeral. The Energy Information Administration put out a forecast on Tuesday that predicts Brent crude prices will average $56 in the first quarter and then average $52 the rest of the year.

The EIA expects West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, to average $50.31 this year, versus current prices of around $58.

The EIA believes prices to slide because operators will start producing more oil, causing supplies to start to build up. In addition, oil production far outpaced demand in 2020, and the high levels of oil in storage could keep a lid on prices.