Oil Prices Fall as Key Russian Port Resumes Loadings, Easing Supply Risks
Oil prices fell Monday, handing back some of the strong gains seen at the end of last week, after Russia’s Novorossiysk port resumed crude loadings, easing immediate concerns over supply disruption.
At 04:35 ET (09:35 GMT), Brent Oil Futures expiring in January fell 0.7% to $63.97 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate WTI crude futures slipped 0.7% to $59.52 per barrel.
Brent and WTI had surged more than 2% on Friday after Ukraine launched a high-profile attack on Novorossiysk and a nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, causing damage and halting exports equivalent to roughly 2% of global supply.
By Sunday, however, media reports said that tanker-tracking data showed tankers were again loading crude at the port.
While the resumption of loadings helped ease the immediate supply crunch, markets remain cautious. Ukraine’s military said it attacked Russia’s Ryazan refinery on Saturday and the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region on Sunday, raising fresh concerns over long-term disruptions.
Source : Investing.com