Crude oil racked up a further gain on Monday as fears built around a new wave of US sanctions against Russian exports.
Benchmark Brent crude climbed as high as US$81.47 a barrel on Monday, before receding slightly to US$80.90 for a 1.5% gain over the day.
At Monday’s peak, oil was trading at its highest level since late August, taking gains to around 6% since midway through last week.
The US Treasury on Friday unveiled wider sanctions against Russia’s oil industry, targeting producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, alongside some 183 vessels.
Exports to major partners China and India are set to be significantly hit, with the wider sanctions doubling the number of targeted Russian oil tankers.
“The latest actions are expected to counter the one million barrel per day oil surplus forecasted by the International Energy Agency this year,” Swissquote Bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya commented.