Oil Extends Gains Above $90/b

Oil prices climbed on Friday, extending sharp gains in the previous session as frigid weather swept across large swathes of the United States, threatening to further disrupt oil supplies.
Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $91.53 a barrel, after rising $1.16 on Thursday, Reuters reported.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 52 cents, or 0.6%, to $90.79 a barrel, having gained $2.01 the previous day to settle above $90 for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014.
Both benchmarks are headed for their seventh straight weekly gain.
A massive winter storm swept across the central and Northeast United States on Thursday where it was delivering heavy snow and ice, making travel treacherous if not impossible, knocking out power to thousands and closing schools in several states.
Tight oil supplies pushed the six-month market structure for WTI into steep backwardation of $8.08 a barrel on Friday, 7 cents shy of an eight-year high of $8.15 on Nov. 29. Backwardation occurs when prices for prompt spot trade are at a premium to future prices, and usually encourages traders to take oil out of storage.
As recovering demand is outpacing supply, oil markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions, analysts said.
Geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have also fueled oil's sharp gains that have pushed Brent and WTI futures up by about 18% and 21%, respectively, so far this year.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed earlier this week to stick to moderate rises of 400,000 barrels per day in oil output with the group already struggling to meet existing targets and despite pressure from top consumers to raise production more quickly.