Brent crosses $87 to close at highest level since September

Oil drilling rigs

Oil closed higher today, March 19, as markets evaluated potential changes in global supply and demand, in addition to the anticipation of monetary policy decisions from the world's major central banks.

Brent crude rose 0.55%, or 49 cents, to settle at $87.38 per barrel—the highest level since Sept. 27, 2023 ($87.68).

WTI crude rose 0.7%, or 57 cents, to $82.73 per barrel—the highest settlement since Oct. 19, 2023 ($82.98).

“Oil prices were given a bullish impulse at the onset of the week following the attacks on Russian refineries, better-than-expected Chinese economic data, along with Iraq’s pledge to lower oil exports,” Han Tan, Chief Market Analyst at Exinity, said as reported by MarketWatch.

The American Petroleum Institute's report on oil inventories is expected later today, and the US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to issue official data on inventories on March 20, amid expectations that crude inventories will fall by 900,000 barrels.