2018.01.1602:38:00UTC+00Oil Prices Buoyed by Solid Demand

International benchmark crude prices steadied with recent gains at around $70 per barrel, a level not observed since 2014's steep oil market downturn.

Prices have been generally supported by production curbs in OPEC countries and Russia, as well as solid demand and amid healthy global economic growth.

Brent crude futures declined 25 cents or 0.36 percent, falling to $70.01 per barrel from the prior day's settlement. But traders said that Brent was propped up broadly around this level. The contract hit $70.37 per barrel on Monday, its strongest level since December 2014, which notched the start of three years of slump for oil prices.

U.S. WTI crude futures stood at $64.50 per barrel, 20 cents or 0.3 percent higher from their last settlement. WTI reached a December-2014 peak of $64.89 per barrel in early trading.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that the lender updated the supply/demand balances to mirror a faster-than-projected tightening global oil market due to improving conditions and higher than anticipated OPEC compliance.

The bank now sees a deficit of 430, 000 bpd in 2018 compared to 100, 000 bpd prior, and thus expect Brent crude oil prices averaging $64 per barrel in 2018 against $56 previously. The bank's WTI estimate was also upwardly revised from $52 per barrel to $60 per barrel for similar reasons.

Morgan Stanley now expects Brent to increase to around $75 per barrel by the third quarter of 2018.