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Oil futures pulled back from multiyear highs Thursday, with analysts citing profit-taking after a run to multiyear highs.
West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery
CL00,
CLZ21,
was down 68 cents, or 0.8%, at $82.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the November contract expired Wednesday at a 14-year high. December Brent crude
BRN00,
BRNZ21,
the global benchmark, was down $1.01, or 1.2%, at $84.81 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, after finishing Wednesday at its highest since Oct. 13, 2018.
“While some projections are as bullish as $100, current price levels already start feeling high for traders, who always have an itch to reap profits from the rising prices,” said Louise Dickson, senior oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, in a note.
“Traders who had set $86 as their selling threshold took the opportunity to already pocket some profit and oil prices took a dive as a result,” she said.
Profit-taking aside, the trajectory for crude still looks bullish for the rest of the year, Dickson said, thanks to rising demand and a tight production policy by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+.
Crude futures were under pressure in early trading Wednesday, but rebounded after government data showed an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories.
OPEC+ members have struggled to meet production quotas after agreeing this summer to begin easing existing output cuts in monthly increments of 400,000 barrels a day.
