Brent crude gained 29 cents, or 0.3%, to $87.29 a barrel after increasing 2.4% last week
Oil prices rose on Monday, adding to recent gains amid expectations of tighter supply from OPEC+ cuts, attacks on Russian refineries and as upbeat Chinese manufacturing data supported outlooks for improving demand.
Brent crude gained 29 cents, or 0.3%, to $87.29 a barrel by 0331 GMT after increasing 2.4% last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $83.48 a barrel, up 31 cents, or 0.4%, after a 3.2% gain last week.
Trade volumes are expected to be thin on Monday as several countries are closed for Easter holidays.
Both benchmarks closed higher for a third successive month in March, with Brent holding above $85 a barrel since the middle of last month, as OPEC+ pledged to extend production cuts to the end of June which could tighten crude supply during summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that its oil firms will focus on lowering output rather than exports in Q2 in order to evenly spread production cuts with other OPEC+ member countries.
Drone attacks from Ukraine have knocked out several Russian refineries, which is expected to reduce Russia’s fuel exports.
In Europe, oil demand was stronger than expected, rising 100,000 bpd on year in February, Goldman Sachs analysts said, versus its forecast of a 200,000 bpd drop in 2024.
Europe’s strong demand, softness in U.S. supply growth along with a possible extension of OPEC+ cuts through 2024 outweigh downside risk from persistent softness in China’s demand, they stated in a note.
Crude oil production by the US, the world’s biggest producer, declined 6% in January from December’s record high, after freezing weather, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Friday.
We see the risks to our forecast that Brent will average $83/bbl in 2024Q4 as skewed moderately to the upside, the analysts added.
