Brent jumps past $ 70 for the first time since the pandemic began, after the attack on Saudi facilities

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent oil futures rose above $ 70 a barrel on Monday, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while U.S. oil peaked in more than two years, after reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities.

Brent oil futures for May reached $ 71.38 per barrel in the first Asian trades, the highest since January 8, 2020, and were at $ 71.11 per barrel at 0255 GMT, up from $ 1.75, or 2.5%.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude in April rose $ 1.60, or 2.4%, to $ 67.69. The WTI’s first month price touched $ 67.98 a barrel before, the highest price since October 2018.

Asian stocks also rose after the US Senate passed a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill, while positive economic data from the United States and China bodes well for a global economic recovery.

Yemeni Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility in Ras Tanura vital to oil exports, in what Riyadh called a failed attack on global energy security .

“We can see more advantages in the market in the short term, especially as the market now probably needs to be pricing some kind of risk premium, with these attacks increasing in frequency,” said ING analysts in a report, noting that this was the second attack this month after an incident in Jeddah on March 4.

Brent and WTI prices are up for the fourth consecutive session after OPEC and its allies decided to keep production cuts virtually unchanged in April.

Despite the rapid rise in oil prices, the Saudi Arabian oil minister expressed doubts about the recovery in demand.

“The decision to keep quotas unchanged signals the group’s intention to further reduce inventories, without worrying about tightening the market too much,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

“It also suggests that they see little threat of increased production elsewhere.

However, the energy minister of the world’s third largest oil importer, India, said that higher prices could threaten the recovery of consumption in some countries.

Higher prices have also encouraged U.S. energy companies to add oil and natural gas platforms for the second week in a row, energy services company Baker Hughes Co said on Friday.