Energy Market
Oil prices reversed losses and edged up on Monday as concerns of tight supply amid lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and sanctions on Russia outweighed fears of a global recession.
Oil prices climbed above $120 a barrel on Monday, hitting their highest in more than two months, as traders waited to see whether a European Union meeting would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil imports.
OPEC+ will likely stick to modest oil output increases on Thursday arguing it is not responsible for geopolitics and supply disruptions while stressing its worries over the demand outlook due to new COVID lockdowns in China.
Oil prices jumped even higher on Monday after Russia-Ukraine talks appeared to yield no sign of progress, and markets continued to fret over tight supply — sparking a call by the International Energy Agency to reduce oil demand.
Oil prices extended their gains on Friday at the end of a third volatile week of trade after slim progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine raised the spectre of tighter sanctions and a prolonged disruption to oil supply.
Bulls have surged into the U.S. crude oil options market in recent days as futures touch highs not seen in a decade, betting that crude’s rally will persist, according to analysts and exchange data.
In July 2020, just a few months after the COVID-19 pandemic started to spiral out of control, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden declared world oil demand may have passed its peak – all but condemning his company’s core business to eventual obscurity.
Oil prices jumped more than $2 on Tuesday on supply disruption worries as tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated, after Moscow ordered troops into two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
Oil prices fell on Monday on a plan for U.S. President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis and on prospects of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in the next week or two.
Oil prices extended losses on Friday, and were headed for a weekly fall, as the prospect of extra supply from Iran returning to the market eclipsed fears of a possible supply disruption arising from a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
