Long-dated oil prices have risen to within a whisker of $100 a barrel, in a sign that investors are expecting high prices to return after the recession.

The furthest forward oil contract traded on exchanges – the December 2017 futures – rose last week to $99.97 a barrel for the Brent benchmark and to $99.43 for the West Texas Intermediate, the highest since last October. The prices have risen by 10 per cent in the past month.