By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices hovered near two-week highs on Monday after 6% gains last week, as geopolitical tensions rose between Western powers and top oil producers Russia and Iran, raising prices. risks of supply interruption.
Futures rose 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $75.30 a barrel by 0115 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $71.38 a barrel, up of 14 cents, or 0.2%.
Last week, both contracts posted their biggest weekly gains since late September to hit their highest settlement levels since Nov. 7, after Russia fired a hypersonic missile at Ukraine in a warning to the United States and the United Kingdom following kyiv’s attacks on Russia using American and British weapons. .
“Recent exchanges indicate the war has entered a new and dangerous phase, raising concerns about supply disruptions,” ANZ analysts led by Daniel Hynes said in a note.
Additionally, Iran reacted to a resolution passed Thursday by the U.N. nuclear watchdog by ordering measures such as the activation of several new, advanced centrifuges used to enrich uranium.
“The IAEA censure and Iran’s response increase the likelihood that Trump will seek to impose sanctions against Iran’s oil exports when he comes to power,” Vivek Dhar, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note. OTC :).
The imposed sanctions could sideline about 1 million barrels per day of Iran’s oil exports, about 1% of global oil supply, he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday it will hold talks on its controversial nuclear program with three European powers on Nov. 29.
Investors also focused on growing demand from China and India, the world’s top and third-largest importers, respectively.
China’s crude oil imports rebounded in November as lower prices sparked storage demand, while Indian refiners increased crude throughput by 3% year-on-year to 5.04 million bpd in October, boosted by exports of fuel.