Oil prices post fifth day of gains as demand slightly recovers

Global crude oil contracts witnessed their fifth consecutive day of gains on a cautious recovery in demand. Most countries have recently started to lift the quarantine measures and returned to work in a bid to kick-start their virus-hit economies.

At the same time, global crude oil production is gradually decreasing as the OPEC and its allies’ 9.7 million/day production cut deal has entered into force. With demand recovery and lower crude output, supply-demand dynamics are drawing a more balanced picture these days.

On May 5, West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, jumped 20.45%, or $4.17, to settle at $24.56/barrel. Similarly, Brent crude oil prices settled 13.86% or $3.77 higher at $30.97/barrel. Both crude oil benchmarks posted their fifth-straight day of gains.

At the time of the writing, WTI crude oil was trading almost 1% lower while Brent crude oil contracts also inched down by 0.55% during the intraday trading on May 6. Oil markets are still fragile and cautious even though analysts think that the worst is over.