The international oil benchmark, Brent crude , rose more than two per cent on Tuesday, hitting a 12- month high after major crude producers showed they were reining in output roughly in line with their commitments .
Brent crude , against which Nigeria ’ s oil is priced , was up $1. 27, or 2. 3 per cent, at $57. 62 a barrel by 1320 GMT , its third straight day of gains and the highest levels since late February last year , according to Reuters.
The United States benchmark , West Texas Intermediate , gained $1. 2, or 2. 2 per cent, to $54. 75, a level last seen in early March 2020.
Crude production by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose for a seventh month in January but the increase was smaller than expected , a Reuters survey found .
Also , voluntary cuts of one million barrels per day by OPEC’ s de facto leader , Saudi Arabia, are set to be implemented from the beginning of February through March .
“ With OPEC and its allies ( OPEC+) endeavouring to keep global oil production below demand , we expect petroleum inventories to keep falling, ” UBS said in a note.
“ With inventories starting to drop in 2H 20, the structure of the futures curve has shifted to become downward sloped . This is attracting investors. ”
The investment bank forecast Brent would reach $63 per barrel by the second half of this year and $65 by the first quarter of 2022. Goldman Sacks said it expected the benchmark to reach $65 a barrel by July .
In another development , ExxonMobil on Tuesday posted its first annual loss as a public company as the COVID – 19 pandemic hammered energy prices and it reduced the value of its shale gas properties by more than $20bn in the fourth quarter.
The company reported a net annual loss of $ 22 . 44 bn for 2020 , compared with a full – year profit of $ 14 . 34 bn in 2019.
