Crude rose 7 percent as the European Union considered banning imports of Russian oil after attacks on Saudi facilities

On Monday (March 21), international crude oil futures rose by about 7 percentage points
.
Saudi oil facilities were attacked by Houthis over the weekend, while the European Union considered whether to join the United States in banning imports of Russian crude, raising concerns that
global crude supplies could tighten further.

By the close, the May contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) was up $6.
88 or 6.
67% at $109.
97 a barrel
.

Brent crude for May, the global benchmark, closed up $7.
69, or 7.
12 percent, at $115.
62 a barrel
.

This week, EU leaders plan a summit with US President Joe Biden aimed at tightening sanctions
against Russia.
EU governments will then consider whether to join the United States in imposing an embargo
on Russian crude oil.
John Shares, a partner at New York Recapital? Kidov said that if such an embargo were imposed, it would amount to pushing global crude oil supplies to the brink
.

Russia is the world's top three crude oil producer and the second largest crude oil exporter
after Saudi Arabia.
Crude oil exports reach 4 to 5 million tons per day, in addition to 2 to 3 million tons of refined products
.

The United States and allies have imposed a series of unprecedented sanctions against Russia, including freezing hundreds of billions of dollars in assets of the Russian central bank and cutting off several Russian banks and the global financial payment system SWIFT
.

On Monday (March 21), the troops in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol did not lay down their arms
before dawn on Monday, as requested by Russia.
With no easing in the conflict between the two countries, there are fears that more sanctions will lead to further tightening of global supply
.
Analysts noted that last week's optimistic expectations for ceasefire talks in Ukraine are gradually dissipating, and oil prices are once again adding risks to the premium
.

Over the weekend, Iranian-aligned Yemeni Houthi carried out missile and drone strikes on at at least six Saudi sites, temporarily dropping output at a joint venture refinery in Yanbu, further raising concerns
about rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would not be responsible for any global supply shortages caused by the attacks, a sign of growing frustration with the U.
S.
approach to Yemen and Iran
.

As crude prices soared, major importers pressured producers to increase supply
.
Over the weekend, Japan urged the UAE to increase crude exports, saying it "hopes that the UAE will contribute to stabilizing the market.
"

OPEC documents show that some producers still fall short of production quota targets because they have underinvested in infrastructure and limited
capacity.

The announcement by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Monday of the easing of pandemic restrictions also encouraged sentiment
.
Chinese mainland the epidemic situation remains a cause for concern
.
Last week, China reported its first coronavirus death since January 2021, with Shanghai hitting a record number of new cases in a single day
.

From the perspective of fund dynamics, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) position data showed that the fund significantly reduced its crude oil net long position last week, which is also the fifth reduction in six weeks
.
As of March 15, 2022, speculative funds held a net long position of 258,739 contracts in the WTI crude oil futures and options market in New York, down 18,795 contracts
from a week ago.
Last week it was a net sale of 3,256 lots
.