rose oil prices to its highest level in two months, on Monday, as markets waited to know whether the European Union will reach an agreement on the Russian oil embargo ahead of a meeting related to the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Brent crude jumped near $120 a barrel, with Beijing announcing the easing of lockdown restrictions in major Chinese cities and controlling the outbreak of the Corona virus. Brent crude is trading at $119.92, after gaining 0.41%.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $0.60, to $115.67 a barrel, to continue the gains made last week.
Officials said European Union governments had failed to agree on a Russian oil embargo on Sunday, but would continue talks on a deal to ban sea shipments of Russian oil while allowing pipeline deliveries before a summit later on Monday.
If agreed, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be allowed to continue receiving Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline for some time until alternative supplies are arranged.
It is expected that “OPEC Plus” will reject Western calls to speed up production increases when they meet next Thursday.
Six sources in “OPEC Plus” had said that the organization would adhere to its plan to add 432,000 barrels per day in July.