On Thursday (May 21), oil prices continued to rise intraday. At 08:10 am Western Canada time (23:10 Beijing time), WTI crude oil June futures prices rose 0.5 US dollars, or 1.52%, to 33.99 US dollars per barrel. Brent crude oil futures prices rose 0.76 US dollars, or 2.13%, to 36.51 US dollars / barrel, which once hit an intraday high of 36.98 US dollars / barrel.

　　Oil prices pushed up on Thursday, rising for the sixth consecutive day. This is the longest increase in 15 months, as production cuts have rebalanced markets hit by the epidemic.

　　After reaching a historic agreement last month, OPEC+ implemented substantial production cuts. Some producing countries led by Saudi Arabia have also pledged to further reduce production from June.

　　According to Canada's Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage, producers in Alberta, Canada have also reduced their daily output by 1 million barrels, which will only gradually recover after market conditions improve.

　　Since production cuts have begun and demand has begun to pick up, crude oil prices have risen by more than 80% this month.

　　However, there is still a long way to go to return to pre-epidemic consumption levels, and the sharp increase in physical prices may lead to the risk of premature recovery of production.

　　Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said in an interview that the current US oil embargo may reach its peak.

　　Robert Kaplan added: "Many lockdowns will be restored by the end of this year."

　　Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said: "People are increasingly optimistic that oil demand will continue to pick up, and this has now been reflected in prices."

　　At 08:10 am Western Canada time (23:10 Beijing time), the US WTI crude oil futures price was reported at $33.99 per barrel.

　　(Excerpt from China Energy Network Chief Editor Zhang Xuekun)