[TOKYO] Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Monday, erasing last week’s gains, as loadings resumed at the key Russian export hub of Novorossiysk after a two-day suspension at the Black Sea port that had been hit by a Ukrainian attack.
Brent crude futures dropped 58 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to US$63.81 a barrel at 0050 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at US$59.50 a barrel, down 59 cents, or 1.0 per cent from Friday’s close.
Both benchmarks rose more than 2 per cent on Friday to end the week with a modest gain, after exports were suspended at Novorossiysk and a neighbouring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, affecting the equivalent of 2 per cent of global supply.
Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday, two industry sources said and LSEG data showed. However, Ukraine’s stepped-up attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure remain in focus for further possible disruptions.
Ukraine’s military said on Saturday it had hit Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery, and Kyiv’s General Staff said on Sunday it had struck the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region.
“Investors are trying to gauge how Ukraine’s attacks will affect Russia’s crude exports in the long term, while also locking in profits after last Friday’s rally,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
“Overall, the perception of oversupply from Opec+ production increases remains,” he said, adding that WTI is likely to stay near US$60, fluctuating within a US$5 range.
Investors are also monitoring the impact of Western sanctions on Russian supply and trade flows. The United States imposed sanctions banning deals with Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft after Nov 21 to push Moscow toward peace talks over Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republicans are working on legislation that will impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, and he said Iran may get added to that list.
Earlier this month, Opec+ agreed to increase December output targets by 137,000 barrels per day, the same as for October and November. It also agreed to a pause in increases in the first quarter of next year.
The number of rigs drilling for oil in the United States rose by 3 to 417 in the week to November 14, data from oil services firm Baker Hughes showed on Friday. REUTERS
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