2021 Closes With Crude Oil Prices Below $80

Crude Oil prices closed in the year 2021 at below $80 per barrel after going above $80 per barrel in the last quarter of the year.

At the beginning of January 2021, West Texas Intermediate WTI traded at $48.86 per barrel while International Benchmark-Brent traded at $52.44.

However, crude prices began soaring, following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions which increased demand for fuel.

In October, WTI jumped to $84.64 per barrel while International Benchmark-Brent leapt to $86.34 per barrel.

The soaring crude oil prices pushed fuel prices up at the pump in most countries, causing more economic hardship and compounding the impact of Covid-19.

For example, in Ghana, West Africa, a litre of petrol and diesel at some point sold at Ghc 6.90 (an equivalent of US$1.09).

This sparked anger among commercial transport operators who lamented over the high cost of fuel and demanded that the government abolish some of the taxes on petroleum products to bring them some relief.

As of the close of Friday, WTI was trading at $76.90 per barrel while International Benchmark-Brent sold at $79.50 per barrel.

Some analysts have predicted that oil prices will hit $100 per barrel in 2022.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com