International benchmark Brent spiked 7% in European trade on Monday on track for the third straight profit, hitting one-week highs after the surprise OPEC+ decision to cut output starting next month.
Brent Prices Today
Brent rose 6.75% to $85.09 a barrel, marking March 7 highs, with a session-low at $84.52.
Brent rose 1.6% on Friday, the second profit in a row as Kurdish supplies were disrupted.
Legal disputes between Iraq and the semi-independent Kurdistan region led to a cut in crude exports amounting to 450 thousand bpd.
Turkey stopped Kurdistan's crude pipeline exports following a court order to required the Iraqi government's approval to ship the crude.
Surprise OPEC+ Decision
In a surprise move, OPEC and allies including Russia announced voluntary production cuts amounting to 1.65 million bpd starting May and until the end of the year.
The step came outside the usual timeline for the global alliance to review market conditions, which was supposed to happen today, Monday.
That cut adds to a previous cut agreed upon in October 2022 and amounting to 2 million bpd.