Title: Oil prices climb to over 2-month highs ahead of EU meeting on Russia sanctions

May 30, 2022 03:06AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

Oil prices rose on Monday, reaching the highest level in more than two months, as traders waited to see if the EU would agree on a ban on Russian oil imports.

The July Brent crude futures contract, which expires Tuesday, rose 47 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $119.90 per barrel at 0659 GMT, after reaching a high of $120.50 earlier in the session. August Brent crude rose 61 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $116.17 per barrel.

WTI crude futures in the United States rose 72 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $115.79 per barrel, extending solid gains from the previous week.

The EU is due to meet Monday and Tuesday to discuss a sixth package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, an act Moscow calls a "special military operation".

EU governments failed to agree on an embargo on Russian oil on Sunday but will continue negotiations ahead of a summit Monday afternoon on a deal that would ban Russian oil shipments by sea but allow supplies via pipelines, officials said.

Any further ban on Russian oil would further strain an oil market already tight on supply due to rising demand for gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel ahead of the summer peak demand season in the US and Europe.

Unprecedented high refining margins for diesel and gasoline in Europe and the US have pushed prices of some physical crude products to record highs, according to traders.

Oil markets were also on edge after Iran announced on Friday that its navy had seized two Greek oil tankers in retaliation for the US seizure of Iranian oil from a tanker detained off the Greek coast.