BENGALURU (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains to scale multi-year peaks on Monday, fuelled by the rebound in global demand that has also contributed to power and gas shortages in key economies like China.
Brent crude was up $1.39, or 1.7%, at $83.78 a barrel by 11:02 a.m. EDT (1502 GMT), after hitting its highest since October 2018 at $84.60 earlier in the session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.55, or 2%, to $80.90, after touching its highest since late 2014 at $82.18.
The pace of economic recovery from the pandemic, combined with cold weather have supercharged energy demand, coming at a time when pressure on governments to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy has slowed investment in oil projects.
At the same time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, together known as OPEC+, have held back from boosting supply even as prices have risen.
Power prices have surged to record highs in recent weeks, driven by widespread energy shortages in Asia, Europe and the United States. Soaring gas prices are encouraging countries to switch to oil for power generation.