Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the EU agreed to cut Russian oil imports, raising fears of a tighter marke...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as the EU agreed to cut Russian oil imports, raising fears of a tighter market already pressured by rising demand ahead of the peak summer driving season in the United States and Europe.
At 0359 GMT, Brent crude for July, which expires on Tuesday, climbed $1.13 to a new two-month high of $122.80 per barrel. The August contract, which is the most active, climbed $1.34 to $118.94.
WTI crude futures in the United States were trading at $118.25 a barrel, up $3.18 from Friday's closing. Due to a federal holiday in the United States, no settlement was reached on Monday.
Since Wednesday, both benchmarks have seen daily rises.
Leaders of the European Union have reached an agreement in principle to reduce 90 percent of Russia's oil imports by the end of 2022, breaking a standoff with Hungary over the bloc's strongest sanctions against Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine three months ago.
"The oil price is clearly positive, with supply pressures increasing. The price of oil is on its way to new highs in March "CMC Markets' Tina Teng is a market analyst. The reopening of China is also supporting prices, according to Teng.
Oil prices rose to their highest level since 2008 in March, and are up more than 55% so far this year.
They should gain even more support as demand from China is projected to increase with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Shanghai's two-month-long lockdown will come to an end on Wednesday, allowing the vast majority of residents in China's largest city to leave their homes and drive their automobiles.
On the production front, OPEC+ is expected to keep to last year's agreement at its meeting on Thursday, with a modest 432,000 barrels per day rise in July, according to six OPEC+ sources, defying Western demands for a faster increase to decrease skyrocketing prices.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, argue that the oil market is stable and that recent price increases are unrelated to fundamentals.
