Oil prices settle higher as bets on tighter supply; Gaza ceasefire unlikely
investing.comInvesting.com-- Oil prices settled higher Monday, driven by growing bets on tighter global crude supplies as Russia is reportedly set to cut oil output at a time when Ukraine continues to target the country's refineries.
At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.64% to $81.95 a barrel, while Brent oil futures rose 1.6% to $86.57 a barrel.
Russia ordered companies to cut output to meet its agreed OPEC+ output quota, Reuters reported, citing sources. The news come amid ongoing Ukrainian strikes on refineries in Russia thqat has «added pressure on fuel markets, leading to rising demand for available crude oil cargoes,» ANZ Research said.
«Adding to the issue was the news that Indian refineries are refusing to take Russian crude carried on PJSC Sovcomflot tankers due to US sanctions,» it added.
The United Nations Security Council voted on a measure Monday calling for a immediate temporary ceasefire in the Gaza strip for Ramadan, as well as the release of all hostages by Hamas.
The non-binding resolution isn't expected to curb Israeli forces pressing on with their offensive in Gaza
A deescalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict is expected to soothe concerns over geopolitical instability in the Middle East- which could potentially disrupt crude supplies from the region. This notion has been a key support of oil prices in recent months.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
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