Russian Fears of Energy Crisis Boost Oil Price

Brent crude climbed $4.82, or 4.9%, to $102.75 by 1028 GMT; it touched a high of $105.07 a barrel in early trade.

The Brent contract for April delivery passes on Monday. The most active contract for May delivery was $4.74 at $98.86.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was higher $4.62, or 5%, at $96.21 after beating $99.10 in early trade.

Russia is encountering severe disruption to its exports of all commodities from oil to grains. Western nations imposed stiff sanctions on Moscow and cut off some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system.

Moreover, Russian crude oil grades, which account for approximately 10% of the global oil supply, were beaten in physical markets.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) bank expanded its one-month Brent price forecast to $115 a barrel from $95 earlier.

President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear block on high alert on Sunday.

The Interfax news agency stated that Russian forces seized two small cities in southeastern Ukraine but resisted elsewhere.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser stated that talks between Ukraine and Russia have begun at the Belarusian border, aiming to agree on an immediate ceasefire.

BP Is Russia’s Biggest Foreign Investor

British oil major BP (NYSE: BP) decided to leave its Russian oil and gas investments, opening a new front in the West to isolate Russia’s economy.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partners led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+, will complete on March 2. The group should adhere to plans to add 400,000 barrels per day (BPD) of supply in April.

However, ahead of the meeting, OPEC+ adjusted down its projection for the oil market surplus for 2022 by about 200,000 BPD to 1.1 million BPD, underscoring market tightness.