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Prices for crude oil have ticked up to their highest level in five months amid growing concerns of tighter supplies fueled by OPEC+ production cuts and attacks on Russian refineries.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, is currently at $87.31 U.S. per barrel, having risen nearly 3% in the past week.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading at $83.56 U.S. a barrel, up 3.2% over the last week.

Oil prices are also firming up on reports that China’s factory output rose in March for the first time in six months, supporting a stronger outlook for global demand.

Both crude oil benchmarks posted a third consecutive month of gains in March, with the price of Brent remaining above $85 U.S. per barrel since the middle of last month.

Prices have increased ever since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) extended production cuts to the end of June, a move that is expected to tighten crude oil supplies in coming months, notably during the busy summer travel season.

At the same time, drone attacks from Ukraine have knocked out several Russian oil refineries, which is expected to reduce Russia's crude oil exports in the weeks ahead.

About one million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil processing capacity is currently offline following the Ukrainian attacks, according to government data from Moscow.

Growth in China's manufacturing output supports the case for a rise in oil demand as the Asian nation remains the world's largest importer of crude oil.


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