2021.08.1210:22:00UTC+00Oil Sees Modest Gains As IEA Cuts Demand Outlook

Oil prices were modestly higher on Thursday after the White House urged OPEC to boost oil production, saying recent planned increases will not fully offset previous production cuts imposed during the pandemic.

"At a critical moment in the global recovery, this is simply not enough," National security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

"Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery," he added. "OPEC+ must do more to support the recovery."

In July, OPEC agreed to boost output each month by 400,000 bpd versus the previous month, starting in August, until the rest of their record cuts of 10 million bpd, about 10 percent of world demand, made in 2020 are phased out.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $71.73 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $69.50.

On the demand side, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cut forecasts for global oil demand "sharply" for the rest of this year, citing new COVID-19 restrictions imposed in several major oil consuming countries, particularly in Asia.

"We now estimate that demand fell in July as the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant undermined deliveries in China, Indonesia and other parts of Asia," the international energy watchdog said in its monthly report.