LONDON: Oil hit 13-month highs on Tuesday with the Brent benchmark staying above $60 a barrel, supported by supply cuts, a weak dollar and optimism over a recovery in fuel demand.
Brent crude futures for April were up 16 cents, or 0.3pc, to $60.72 a barrel by 1301 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for March was at $58.00 a barrel, up 3 cents. Both contracts had hit their highest since January 2020 earlier on Tuesday after having risen for six straight sessions.
The dollar was down 0.4pc against a basket of currencies, making dollar-priced commodities more attractive to holders of other currencies.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia is curbing supply in February and March, on top of cuts by producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, prompting forecasts of a supply deficit this year.
Also, Libya’s output has fallen to 1.04 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.3 million bpd late last year due to an ongoing strike by Petroleum Facilities Guards, a Libyan oil source said on Monday.
Signalling no swift return of Iranian barrels into the market, Tehran and Washington appeared to be deadlocked over a resolution of sanctions on the OPEC member.
