(New York) Oil prices rose on Friday, marking their seventh consecutive week of increases, after new forecasts for global crude demand growth from the IEA.

A barrel of Brent North Sea oil, for October delivery, gained 0.47% to $86.81.

Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for September delivery, gained 0.44% to $83.19.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2023 to reach its “highest level on record” at 102.2 million barrels per day, according to its monthly report released on Friday.

“This came as a bit of a surprise as the previous OPEC report maintained around the same level of demand, but the IEA was very positive announcing record demand driven in particular by the needs of the Chinese petrochemical industry,” commented Matt Smith of Kpler.

He notes that oil prices have risen despite the strength of the dollar, supported by a bout of renewed inflation on the side of wholesale prices in the United States.

“Not only does the IEA highlight the strong demand but it highlights the reduction in supply, in particular the production cuts decided by Saudi Arabia”, noted Matt Smith.

Nine members of OPEC, including its two heavyweights Riyadh and Moscow, have introduced voluntary production cuts since May for a total of 1.6 million barrels / day. Cuts subsequently extended until the end of 2024.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia opted for a new production cut of one million barrels/day for July, extended until August, then until September.

Moscow had for its part committed to reducing its exports by 500,000 barrels/day in August, then by 300,000 barrels/day in September.

“If WTI prices – which this week rejoined their year-high reached in April – hold at this level, it could form a new low to go higher,” the Kpler analyst warned.

On the natural gas side, the Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, fell slightly to 35.90 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).

Analysts at Energi Danmark call this a “clear correction from the price spike” of more than 28% on Wednesday, sparked by a potential strike by Australian workers at offshore liquefied natural gas platforms ( LNG) in the West of the country.

The Australian gas facilities affected by the potential strike alone supply more than 10% of the world’s LNG supply each month.