Holiday Ayo - Oil prices rose more than USD 1 per barrel in trading Thursday (Friday Jakarta time), after falling for two consecutive sessions.

Oil prices jumped on the supply outlook as the OPEC+ producer alliance is expected to maintain current production cuts. 

Quoted from CNBC, Friday (29/3), the price of Brent crude oil futures for May rose USD 1.39 or 1.61% to USD 87.48 per barrel. 

Meanwhile, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil rose USD 1.82 or 2.24%, to USD 83.17 per barrel. Both global oil price benchmarks rose more than 2% this week and are on track to finish higher for three consecutive months. 

In the previous trading session, oil prices came under pressure from an unexpected rise in US crude oil and gasoline inventories last week, driven by increased crude oil imports and sluggish gasoline demand. 

However, the increase in crude stocks was smaller than the American Petroleum Institute's projections, and analysts noted the increase was lower than expected for this time of year. 

“We…expect US oil inventories to increase less than usual as a reflection of the slight global oil market deficit. This is likely to provide support to Brent crude prices in the future," said SEB Analyst Bjarne Schieldrop. 

U.S. refinery utilization rates, which rose 0.9 percentage points last week, also supported prices. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said the US  economy grew faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter. 

Gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 3.4% from a previously reported pace of 3.2%. 

“The strength in the stock market suggests strong earnings going forward which, in turn, suggests a very strong U.S. economy conducive to better-than-expected demand for energy products,” said Ritterbusch and Associates Energy Consultant, Jim Ritterbusch.