Oil could vault as high as $150 a barrel, veteran analyst warns, as undersupply meets surging demand

Oil could vault as high as $150 a barrel, veteran analyst warns, as undersupply meets surging demand

Oil prices are soaring and nothing appears to be stopping their ascent. December to January saw international benchmark climb by roughly $11 a barrel, and it's gone up nearly the same amount since the start of February, underpinned by supply concerns, rising inflation and geopolitical tensions. Brent surpassing $100 a barrel is almost a given at this point, energy analysts say; but now, an increasing number of forecasters predict the commodity surpassing $125 a barrel and even higher. Given that you've got this underinvestment in capital exploration, we're running low on physical oil, we're running short of supply," John Driscoll, director of JTD Energy Services, told CNBC on Monday. "There is a scenario where we could vault past $120, even as high as $150" a barrel. crossed $95 a barrel in the last week, its highest level since the summer of 2014 and a 63% increase year-on-year. It was trading at $93.98 per barrel on Wednesday at 10:20 a.m. in London. Tensions over the threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine have also helped to push prices up, though a from Ukraine's border areas on Tuesday led the commodity's price to retreat about 3% from the previous day. While Moscow