Oil prices rise as traders assess supply risks

Oil prices rose on Monday as traders weighed concerns that Russian supplies could be disrupted by additional US sanctions and Ukrainian attacks targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure.

Brent crude futures climbed 39 cents, or 0.6%, to 68.12 dollars by 10:23 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 42 cents, or 0.7%, to 64.08 dollars.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, said: “The market is somewhat concerned that these peace negotiations will not yield any results.” He added: “Expectations point to supply exceeding demand in the autumn months, but in the short term this scenario is being challenged by the risk of geopolitical disruptions.”

US President Donald Trump warned again on Friday that he would impose sanctions on Russia if there was no progress toward a peace settlement in Ukraine within two weeks. He also said he could impose harsh tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil.

Over the weekend, US Vice President J.D. Vance said Russia had made “significant concessions” toward a negotiated settlement in the three-and-a-half-year-long war.

Ukraine, which has repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure during the war, launched a drone strike on Sunday that ignited a massive fire at the fuel export terminal in Ust-Luga, according to Russian officials. Another fire broke out at Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk refinery, caused by a Ukrainian drone, and continued for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday, according to the region’s acting governor. The refinery mainly exports fuel and has an annual capacity of 5 million metric tons of oil, equivalent to about 100,000 barrels per day.

Concerns about Russian supply disruptions were tempered by OPEC+ rolling back a series of production cuts, adding millions of barrels to the market, according to Saxo Bank. Eight members of the oil exporters’ group are scheduled to meet on September 7, where they will agree on a further increase in output.

Risk appetite also improved after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Friday the possibility of a rate cut at the US central bank’s September meeting.

However, Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, said both Brent and WTI prices appear to lack momentum, adding that markets are becoming more convinced that Trump’s tariffs will hurt economic growth.