Oil climbs 2% to 2-week high on geopolitical tensions
Oil prices climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high as persistent geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the U.S. and Iran looked set to keep sanctions on both OPEC+ members Russia and Iran in place for longer.
Brent crude futures rose $1, or 1.5%, to settle at $65.63 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 89 cents, or 1.4%, to close at $63.41.
Russia said work on trying to reach a settlement to end the war in Ukraine was extraordinarily complex and that it would be wrong to expect any imminent decisions but that it was waiting for Ukrainian reaction to its proposals.
Russia is a member of the OPEC+ group that includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, and was the world's second biggest producer of crude in 2024 behind only the U.S., according to U.S. energy data.
OPEC member Iran, meanwhile, was set to reject a U.S. nuclear deal proposal that would be key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer.
Iran was the third biggest producer of crude in OPEC behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 2024, according to U.S. energy data.
In Canada, wildfires burning in Alberta have affected more than 344,000 barrels per day of oil sands production, or about 7% of the country's overall crude output, according to Reuters calculations.
Source : Reuters
