Oil prices rose 6 percent amid fears of shrinking supplies

Oil prices jumped six percent today, a day after the OPEC Plus alliance announced a voluntary cut in oil production, which raised fears of shrinking supplies. Brent crude rose at the settlement of $5.04, or 6.3 percent, to $84.93 a barrel, after touching its highest level since March 7 at $86.44. US West Texas Intermediate crude also recorded a settlement rise of $4.75, or 6.3 percent, to $80.42 a barrel, after hitting a two-month high earlier in the session. The announcement of the “OPEC Plus” coalition, which includes 23 countries, including the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reinforces expectations that the price of Brent crude will rise to about $100 a barrel by the end of this year, which may lead to an increase in inflation, and in turn push Central banks to raise interest rates further. Yesterday, Sunday, the participating countries in the OPEC Plus alliance announced a voluntary cut in oil production, which is a precautionary measure that was taken, in addition to the production cut agreed upon at the thirty-third ministerial meeting of OPEC Plus on the fifth of October 2022, in order to support stability. Oil markets amid developments in global economic conditions and their accelerating effects. It is noteworthy that the member states of the OPEC Plus alliance agreed last October to collectively reduce production by two million barrels per day, from November 2022 until the end of 2023, while the new voluntary cut decision will start from next May until the end of this year. .