Crude oil futures prices closed higher on Monday (4th),WTI CrudeFutures prices climbed back above the $100 level on Monday following their biggest weekly drop in two years last week, as evidence of some Russian killings and looting in Ukraine over the weekend sparked calls from European leaders for additional sanctions on Russia.
energy commodity prices
- Delivered in May WTI CrudeFutures rose $4.01, or 4 percent, to settle at $103.28 a barrel.
May WTI closed at $99.27 on Friday, its lowest close since March 16.
- Delivered in June Brent CrudeFutures rose $3.14, or 3 percent, to settle at $107.53 a barrel.
last week WTI CrudeFutures prices fell 12.8%,Brent CrudeFutures fell 11.1%, both for their biggest weekly drop since late April 2020.
- Gasoline futures for May delivery rose 1.4% to settle near $3.198 a gallon.
- Delivered in MayThermal Fuel FuturesPrices rose 3.6 percent to $3.546 a gallon.
- Natural gas futures for May delivery fell 0.1% to settle at $5.712 per million Btu.
market driving force
After the Russian troops withdrew from the outskirts of Kiev, Ukrainian authorities said that the bodies of at least 410 civilians were found in the Kiev suburb of Bucha, which may be a war crime committed by the Russian army, sparking international outrage.
Russian authorities refuted the move, calling the release of photos and footage from the town of Butcha a “provocation” aimed at influencing peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv authorities. The Russian Defense Ministry said the images were “another masterpiece deliberately arranged by the Kyiv regime”.
“As long as the geopolitical uncertainty related to the Russia-Ukraine war persists, the panic buying in the global oil market will continue,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of Sevens Report Research.
Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch said in a report: “The EU is still unlikely to ban the import of Russian oil and gas, because it is impossible to find an alternative source of gas supply in the short term, so imposing an embargo on Russia might have serious economic consequences. ”
“Nevertheless, at a time when the recent embargo on Russian energy has been quieter and uncertainty regarding how to pay for Russian gas purchases has declined, these kinds of topics might still drive the market’s attention once more,” he said.
The oil market was volatile last week, as the United States announced the release of 1 million barrels per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the next 6 months, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) also announced on Friday that its member countries will follow up with the release of reserves .
In other news, Saudi Aramco announced on Monday that it had raised oil prices for May to all regional customers, with four types of oil sold to the U.S. rising $2.20 a barrel from April. That was also one of the driving forces behind Monday’s rise in oil prices, said Tyler Richey, co-editor of Sevens Report Research.
“However, some technical cracks are still forming on the upside, suggesting that WTI CrudeA correction might be headed, with lows back into the mid-$90s, and such a correction is very likely to happen in the event of any positive progress in the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks. ‘ said Richey.
Meanwhile, the worsening of the coronavirus outbreak in China has reinforced expectations of lower energy demand. China last month locked down Shanghai, its largest city and financial center, under the zero policy.
Investors were also weighing the news of a two-month ceasefire between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabian coalition forces in Yemen late Friday. Crude oil markets have been volatile in recent weeks as Houthi rebels have carried out drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.
