Petroleum prices kept their momentum going for a ninth day on Wednesday, their longest winning streak in two years, supported by producer supply cuts and hopes that vaccine rollouts will drive a recovery in demand.
The American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday crude inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 985,000-barrel build.
Brent crude was up 42 cents, or 0.7%, at $61.51 U.S. by after touching a 13-month high of $61.61 earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $58.65, having touched $58.76, also a 13-month high.
Brent has now risen for nine sessions in a row, its longest sustained period of gains since December 2018 to January 2019. Some analysts say prices have moved too far ahead of the underlying fundamentals.
Crude has galloped since November as governments kicked off vaccination drives for COVID-19 while putting in place large stimulus packages to boost economic activity, and the world’s top producers kept a lid on supply.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia is unilaterally reducing supply in February and March, supplementing cuts agreed by other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+.
Some analysts forecast supply will undershoot demand in 2021 as more people get vaccinated and start going away on trips and working in offices.
