Brent crude futures climbed 54 cents.
Oil prices went up early Monday in Asia because people thought there would be less oil on the market after the EU put sanctions on Russian oil.
By 01:25 GMT, Brent crude futures had gone up 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.04 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude had gone up 51 cents, or 0.6%, to $85.56 a barrel.
Brent rose by 2% last week thanks to a weaker dollar and hopes that COVID-19 restrictions in China would be eased, which would allow demand to pick up in the world’s second largest consumer.
When the EU’s ban on Russian oil imports goes into effect on Dec. 5, oil supplies around the world are likely to be disrupted. In February, the group also plans to stop oil products from Russia from coming in.
Related: Oil prices open session neutral on uncertain demand and supply fears.
Even though the Federal Reserve is getting ready to raise interest rates in early November, there are signs that it might slow down or reduce the size of future rate hikes.
If the Fed slows down its rate hikes, it could make the U.S. dollar less strong, which has been bad for commodity prices. When the dollar gets weaker, things like oil that are priced in dollars become cheaper for people who use other currencies.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, won a record-breaking third term as leader on Sunday. This makes him the most powerful leader in China since Mao Zedong. go to site
Analysts don’t think that the direction of policy, including Xi’s zero-COVID strategy, will change much.
Even though U.S. President Joe Biden said that the last 15 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves would be sold, Brent went up last week. The sale is part of a record-setting release of 180 million barrels that started in May. Biden also said that his goal would be to restock when the price of U.S. crude is around $70 a barrel.
Analysts from ANZ wrote in a note that the market was more interested in the rules for refilling the reserve.
Related: Fears of a recession caused oil prices to drop by more than 3%.
“Biden’s statement that the U.S. won’t buy crude until prices hit USD70/bbl is a strong level of support.”
Energy services company Baker Hughes Co said in a report on Friday that U.S. energy companies added oil and natural gas rigs for the second week in a row. This is because relatively high oil prices make companies want to drill more.
