Oil rises slightly on Monday morning on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend its voluntary output cuts of one million barrels per day (bpd) until September, which could underpin price surge.

A barrel of European reference oil, Brent, goes for USD 84.45 on Monday morning, compared to USD 83.97 on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate trades at USD 80.16 compared to USD 79.84 on Friday afternoon.

Both crude futures are near their highest levels in three months, gaining for the fifth week in a row. According to news agency Reuters, the price increases are a consequence of global production cuts and expectations that the US Federal Reserve has no more interest rate hikes up its sleeve.

”While it seems that crude may have priced in all the good news on U.S. inflation and economic resiliency for the time being, it may continue inching higher still,” Vandana Hari, founder of oil market research firm Vanda Insights, told Reuters.

US investment bank Goldman Sachs has revised its estimate for global oil demand in 2023 upwards by 550,000 bpd. This is due to stronger economic data from India and the US, which helps offset a downward revision of expected consumption in China.

According to Reuters, the CEO of US oil giant Exxon Mobil, Darren Woods, expects record-setting oil demand this year and next year, which could help boost oil prices in the second half of 2023.