Oil prices hit new multi-year highs in the morning, rising after news of a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week.

The two world crude benchmarks, Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), set new records yesterday, as some traders no longer skimp on words to say their projections of a barrel at 80 dollars, or even at $100 this year.

Around 4 p.m. Algerian time, a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in August was worth 73.66 dollars in London, up 1.10% compared to the previous day's close. In New York, the barrel of WTI for the month of July advanced at the same time by 1.30%, to 71.80 dollars. Brent and WTI are moving close to their previous records of 2018.

Two key factors are the direct cause of this upward trend in prices, namely the good news coming from the demand front and the optimistic sentiment prevailing in the financial markets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) set the stage last Thursday, predicting in its latest monthly report that global oil demand is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022.