Brent Nears $69 as Geopolitical Tensions Fuel Supply Risks
Brent surged near $69 per barrel in the global commodity market on Monday as oil prices inched up, supported by persistent geopolitical tensions that heightened supply concerns.
The supply fear offset price pressure emanating from the resumption of oil flows from Iraq’s Kurdish region and expectations of higher OPEC production.
Brent crude was trading at $68.80 per barrel, up 0.2% from the previous close of $68.69. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 0.2% to $65.09 from $64.98 in the prior session.
Ukraine said on Sunday that four people were killed and more than 70 injured in a large-scale Russian airstrike that primarily targeted the capital, Kyiv.
Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said the overnight attack lasted more than 12 hours, damaging residential and non-residential buildings in several districts, including a cardiology institute.
“We will continue to strike back to deprive Russia of those revenue streams and to compel it toward diplomacy.
“Everyone who wants peace must back (US) President (Donald) Trump’s efforts and halt any Russian imports,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on X in response to the attack.
The escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict intensified supply concerns, providing upward support for prices. Meanwhile, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Saturday that oil shipments through the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline had resumed.
The twin-line pipeline, with a combined capacity of about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), connects oil fields in Iraq, including those in the Kurdish regional administration (KRG), to the Mediterranean export terminal at the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Initial shipments are expected to average about 200,000 bpd. The pipeline, closed since the earthquakes on Feb. 6, 2023, was restored to operational readiness by state pipeline operator BOTAS in October last year, he said on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Markets are also eyeing the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday, where OPEC members and its allies are widely expected to discuss raising output in November. Analysts say the move aims to reclaim market share lost in recent years to US shale producers.
