By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Oil was up Monday morning in Asia, . As economies continue to recover from COVID-19, supply restraints by major producers interacted with rising fuel demand.

The price rose to $83.56 at 11.57PM ET (11:57 GMT) after having gained almost 4% over the previous week. The highest level since mid-2014 was 1.93%, at 80.88. U.S. crude increased 4.6% between Friday and Friday. Brent futures and WTI futures both rose above $80.

With more populations coming out of lockdown, including Australia’s Sydney which emerged from a 107-day lockdown, fuel demand has increased and driven prices up. Brent futures rose for five weeks, while WTI futures gained for seven.

Although gas prices and coal have risen as the economy recovers from COVID-19, increased crude oil inventories in America after recent draws may impact the price of the black liquor.

Caroline Bain, Capital Economics’ chief commodities economist and noted that “we think crude oil prices will struggle climb much higher in this quarter” but she still expects them to slowly drop next year.

According to the data released by the during the week, U.S. crude inventory rose for the second consecutive reporting period. At its last meeting, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), decided that a gradual and steady increase in crude production would be maintained.

“OPEC’s decision to hold back from a bigger than scheduled increase in output is likely to see the market tighten further in the fourth quarter,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (OTC:) Ltd. senior commodity strategist Daniel Hynes told Bloomberg.

“The market remains well bid as demand continues to grow,” he added.