OIL FUTURES: Brent continues rise above $80/b on US stock draw

Brent crude futures continued their upward trend in European morning trading Jan. 6, moving further above the $80/b mark not seen since late November as the wider oil complex remained supported by lower US crude stocks, while unrest continued to rock oil producer Kazakhstan.

At 1259 GMT, March ICE Brent crude futures were up $1.20/b at $82/b, while February NYMEX WTI futures were $1.26/b higher at $79.11/b.

The rises saw crude claw back late November's slump in crude and refined products prices that followed news of the discovery of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The Energy Information Administration's weekly US inventory report Jan. 5 revealed that while gasoline stocks surged, commercial crude oil stocks fell 2.14 million barrels week on week to 417.85 million barrels, a 15-week low, largely driven by a drop in crude imports and a rise in input by refiners.

Markets also remained supported by OPEC+'s decision to raise output by 400,000 b/d in February.

Nevertheless, according to Barbara Lambrecht, analyst at Commerzbank, "oil prices are running out of steam (beyond $80) due to demand risks and higher supply in the first quarter."

In other developments, Kazakhstan, a non-OPEC producer participating in the OPEC+ output agreement and currently producing 1.6 million b/d, was in turmoil as security forces sought to restore order in the biggest city Almaty. Originally started as protests about an increase in fuel prices, demonstrations turned violent and into a wider anti-government protest.

In the foreign exchange market, the dollar was up 0.07% at $1.1322 against the euro.