The price of oil continues to rise as Wall Street traders eye a potential supply deficits after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply cuts.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have climbed for three straight weeks to reach their highest peak since November and are now targeting their biggest quarterly jumps since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the first quarter of 2022.
That year, oil prices shot above $100 for the first time since 2014 amid the conflict as demand recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns. Meanwhile, the global benchmark Brent crude ended 2022 near $86 a barrel on fears of global recession.
Over the last quarter, WTI has jumped roughly 27% while Brent has risen almost 24%.
ExxonMobil’s Beaumont refinery expansion adds 250,000 barrels per day to the oil company’s processing capacity. (Fox News Digital/ExxonMobil / Fox News)
Oil producers like Hess, ExxonMobil and Warren Buffet’s Occidental Petroleum have mirrored the spike in crude prices, rising around 19%, 10% and 13%, respectively over the same time.
"The price of oil impacts almost every ‘real good’ in the economy, with transport costs making up a major component of many of these company’s expenses," Q.ai trend analyst Jason Mountford told FOX Business. All talk has been about inflation coming down over the last year, but under the radar, oil has been steadily gaining since June."
"Many companies who rely heavily on fuel, such as airlines and trucking companies, lock in oil prices for months in advance," he said. "So, while you might not see an immediate impact to your hip pocket, it’s something to watch in the coming months."
A move back above $100 for an extended time would boost revenues for members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose economies rely mostly on oil, while obstructing industrialized economies working to cool inflation and lower interest rates.
To support the market, the countries and allies including Russia, agreed in October to cut production by two million barrels per day, about 2% of world demand.
Reuters contributed to this report.