Stock Market Tips, Oil prices hit highest since 2014, but analysts warn of overheated market

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Oil prices hit their highest levels since 2014 on Wednesday due to ongoing production cuts led by OPEC as well as healthy demand, although analysts cautioned that markets may be overheating.

A broad global market rally, including stocks, has also been fuelling investment into crude oil futures.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.40 a barrel at 0100 GMT was 44 cents, or 0.7 percent, above their last settlement. They marked a December-2014 high of $63.53 a barrel in early trading. Brent crude futures were at $69.15 a barrel, 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, above their last close. Brent touched $69.29 in late Tuesday trading, its strongest since an intra-day spike in May 2015 and, before that, in December 2014.

“The extension of the OPEC agreement...and declining inventories are all helping to drive the price higher,” said William O'Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia's Rivkin Securities.

OVERHEATED?

Amid the general bull-run, which has pushed up crude prices by more than 13 percent since early December, there are indicators of an overheated market. In the United States, crude oil production is expected to break through 10 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, reaching levels only Russia and Saudi Arabia have. In Asia, the world's biggest oil consumer region, refiners are suffering from high prices and ample fuel supplies.