Oil prices advanced during Tuesday's Asian session as renewed concerns over supply disruptions mounted amid intensifying hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
By 3:05 pm AEST (5:05 am GMT), Brent crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $68.43 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 92 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.93.
According to Reuters, recent Ukrainian drone attacks have disabled facilities responsible for at least 17% of Russia’s refining capacity, or around 1.1 million barrels per day.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv plans further strikes deep inside Russia following weeks of intensified assaults on energy infrastructure.
ANZ analysts commented in a note to clients, “Ongoing risks to energy infrastructure in Russia remain high. Ukraine struck more Russian oil refineries over the weekend as it ramped up its attacks on infrastructure.”
Geopolitical uncertainty was compounded by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push for “a new global order” prioritising the Global South.
Speaking at a summit with Russian and Indian leaders on Monday, Xi presented his vision as a direct challenge to the U.S. China and India remain the largest buyers of Russian crude, even as Washington presses New Delhi to scale back purchases.
“India continues to rebut mounting U.S. pressure to stop purchases of Russia crude oil. The country’s oil minister, Hardeep Puri, argued that the flows have helped to shield the global economy from a price spike,” ANZ analysts said.
Attention now shifts to the 7 September meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) for any signals on future output policy.
