Brent Closed above $70/bbl for the 1st Time in 2 Years

After plunging into the worst situation since the Great Depression due to the pandemic, the global economy got on a recovery path in the second half of 2020 thanks to unprecedentedly large economic stimulus packages implemented in major countries. [...] The International Monetary Fund projected global economic growth in 2021 at 5.5% in its World Economic Outlook in January but revised the projection upward to 6.0% in view of the latest economic recovery conditions. [...] The global economic recovery and the subsequent steady increase in oil demand have turned around the supply-demand balance in the international oil market and led the market to go in the direction of equilibrium, pushing up crude oil prices. [...] Excluding the substantial oil demand decline under the pandemic, factors that have exerted downside pressure on crude oil prices over the past several years included an increase in non-OPEC oil production supported by a substantial U. [...] However, the decision falling within an expected range apparently indicates that the OPEC-plus group refrained from surprising the market and took a wait-and-see attitude in consideration of various potential turbulent factors in the future international oil market.