Most read from Bloomberg West Texas Intermediate traded just under $ 107 a barrel after trading last week at its highest level since early March. China reported its biggest drop in consumer spending and the worst unemployment rate since the first months of the pandemic, while Shanghai reported its first deaths from an ongoing virus epidemic. Procurement comes as Libya faces further delays in deliveries following protests Monday against the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, which closed Sharara, the country’s largest oil field. Earlier, protesters forced two Libyan ports to stop loading, while production stopped at the El Feel field. Oil has risen this year as the war in Ukraine disrupts an already tight market, with some traders avoiding Russian crude. The rise prompted the United States and its allies to announce the release of millions of barrels of strategic reserves to quell inflationary pressures. OPEC and its partners have refused to increase the rate at which they restore production that closed during the pandemic. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that if more nations banned Russian energy flows, prices could “significantly exceed” historic highs. The United States and the United Kingdom have banned the country from crushing crude following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and there is pressure for the European Union to follow suit. “The market is still deciding how much Russian oil can be driven off the market,” said Matt Stanley, a Star Fuels dealer and broker in Dubai. “That keeps Brent at about $ 110 a barrel.” The story goes on In a telephone conversation over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave a “positive assessment” of their efforts to stabilize the oil market, saying no change in production policy was possible. The two nations are leading the alliance that brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, known as OPEC +. Argon markets are moving backwards, an upward trend characterized by short-term prices above the longer-term ones. Brent’s direct spread – the gap between its two closest contracts – was more than $ 1.10 a barrel in reversal, compared to last week. The rise in oil this year has been part of a wider breakthrough in energy commodities, which has seen prices push up profits even as the prospects for global economic growth weaken. On Monday, U.S. gas prices hit a 13-year high as strong demand tested drilling rigs’ ability to expand supplies. Most read by Bloomberg Businessweek © 2022 Bloomberg LP
