Gasoline price today (June 17): Continuing to climb

World oil prices

At the end of the last trading session of the week, oil prices extended the increase of the previous trading session.

Oil prices unexpectedly reversed and fell slightly at the beginning of the session. However, they regained momentum towards the end of the session, influenced by rising demand from China and OPEC+ supply cuts, despite expected weakness in the global economy and the prospect of rising interest rates.

Gasoline prices recorded a weekly increase, ending a two-week decline. Illustration photo: Reuters

Brent crude rose 94 cents to $76.61 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.16, or 1.64 percent, to $71.78 a barrel.

Although oil prices fell sharply during the week, they rose for the week, marking the first weekly increase after two weeks of decline. For the week, Brent crude rose 2.4%, while WTI crude rose 2.3%.

The acceleration in oil prices this week, according to Reuters , was due to hopes of increased demand from China. China's refinery output in May rose 15.4% year-on-year, rising to its second-highest level on record. The CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. expects Chinese demand to continue to increase in the second half of this year.

Also supporting oil prices were voluntary production cuts by OPEC+ members in May, and additional cuts by Saudi Arabia in July.

With the current increase in oil prices, Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov commented that it is "realistic" that oil prices could reach around $80 per barrel.

According to the Russian official, Russia's oil and gas condensate output is expected to fall by about 20 million tons this year, equivalent to 400,000 barrels per day.

Meanwhile, in Iran, crude oil exports and oil production have hit new highs for the year despite U.S. sanctions, according to shipping data and sources familiar with the matter. Iran has added to global supplies while many other major producers are curbing output.

Capping oil prices this week was the prospect of interest rate hikes by major central banks around the world, which could slow economic growth in many major economies and slow global economic growth.

Oil prices are expected to continue to rise. Illustration: Oilprice

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point next week. The European Central Bank raised rates to a 22-year high on June 15, and the US Federal Reserve has signaled a hike of at least half a percentage point by the end of the year.

Investors have been closely watching interest rates and comments from Fed members.