The energy market witnessed an impressive increase last week when all commodities prospered, in which crude oil was the main highlight with a 6% increase.
Buying forces to catch the bottom of the market, geopolitical tensions tend to increase and concerns about short-term oil supply shortages in some major oil-producing regions are the reasons that have pushed world oil prices soaring in the past week.
In particular, in the early trading session of last week, oil prices rebounded in the context of the conflict in the Middle East still showing no signs of cooling down, the change in US policy related to the war in Ukraine has pushed the market to fear that global crude oil supply may be disrupted.
In addition, the power outage that led to the suspension of production at Western Europe's largest oil field, the Johan Sverdrup field, also increased worries about the disruption of crude oil supply in the North Sea. These reasons have pushed up world oil prices.
Moreover, the decline in the amount of crude oil stored on tankers worldwide also contributed to the price support. Vessel watchdog Vortexa said crude oil stored on tankers in the week ended Nov. 15 reached 50.97 million barrels, down 14 percent from a week ago.
On the demand side of oil, last week the market received a series of positive signals from the world's largest consumer markets. On November 21, in the context that the United States may impose tariffs of 60% or more on goods imported from China, the Chinese government announced measures to promote trade activities and support imports of energy products.
The outlook for oil demand also improved further after the news that crude oil imports to China in November could reach 11.4 million barrels per day, the highest level since August, as the country took advantage of the low price zone in September to buy stockpiles.
Additionally, crude oil imports into India - the world's third-largest consumer market, grew by 4.2% in October 2024 compared to the same period last year. This information has supported oil prices to rise in the past week.
