Oil prices rose this Monday for the third consecutive sessionin a market that was not calmed by President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East and that fears a prolonged suspension of Russian gas exports to Europe.
the bBrent barrels for September delivery gained 5.05% to close at US$106.27.
The barrel of WTI, for August, rose 5.13% to US$102.60, closing above US$100 for the first time in a week.
“Crude prices are back to where they were, above $100 a barrel, after President Biden’s trip to the Middle East resulted in no compromises,” said Edward Moya of Oanda.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Monday that the oil issue had not even been brought up during the summit that brought Biden and leaders of several Arab countries together in Jeddah on Saturday.
“We had a correction that took us below US$100 a barrel”, largely due to fears of a recession and a drop in demand, “but now we are coming back to reality and nothing has changed”, according to the analyst. Stephen Schork, author of the Schork report.
Crude demand remains strong and supply remains constrained by the war in Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Russia.
According to Reuters, the Russian giant Gazprom declared itself in a situation of force majeure with a client, which means that it cannot meet its gas delivery commitments due to exceptional circumstances.
In addition, tension continues to rise around the Nord Stream gas pipeline, Europe’s main supplier of natural gas, currently stopped for maintenance and whose operation should theoretically resume on Thursday.
“As the summer passes and we approach autumn, it seems that the arrival of a (major energy) crisis is only a matter of time,” said Vladimir Petrov of Rystad Energy.
Source: AFP
