Oil prices gain ground on global supply concerns

Global oil prices rose in European trade on track for the second profit in a row, with US crude approaching its highest level this year, while Brent traded above $86 a barrel on current global supply concerns.

Ukraine continues to intensify its drone attacks against Russian oil refineries, while the ongoing Red Sea crisis disrupts shipments and threatens supplies.  

Global Prices

US crude rose 0.4% to $82.26 a barrel, with a session-low at $81.64, while Brent added 0.3% to $86.38 a barrel. 

US crude rallied 1.45% on Monday, while Brent added 0.6%, the first profit in four days as global inventories fell. 

 Russian Supplies 

Goldman Sachs said that Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian refineries disrupted 900 thousand bpd of production capacity. 

The investment bank added that energy outages in the refineries could take weeks to fix, and there will be cases of permanent impairment.  

The Red Sea Crisis 

Goldman Sachs pointed to an accumulation of nearly 100 million barrels of oil in international waters due to the Red Sea tensions, as shipping companies redirect trade flows to avoid Houthis attacks.

Upward Pressures on Prices 

Goldman Sachs said that Red Sea tensions, in addition to Russian supply disruptions, boosted oil prices by $4 so far. 

US Inventories 

Later today, the American Petroleum Institute will release initial data on US crude stocks, expected to show a drawdown for the third week in a row.