Brent exceeds $ 70 for first time since pandemic began after Saudi facility attack

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude futures topped $ 70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began on Monday, while US crude hit its highest point in more than two years, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities.

Brent crude futures reached $ 71.38 a barrel in May at the start of Asian trade, the highest since January 8, 2020, and stood at $ 71.11 a barrel at 0255 GMT, $ 1.75 more or 2.5%.

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

Asian stocks also rose after the U.S. Senate passed a $ 1.9 trillion stimulus bill, while positive economic data from the U.S. and China augurs well for a good 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 for oil exports, in what Riyadh called an assault failed in global energy security.

“We could see a new rise in the market in the short term, mainly because the market will probably now have to set prices on some kind of risk premium, with the frequency of these attacks,” ING analysts said in a report , who noted that this was the second attack this month after an incident in Jeddah on March 4.

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

Despite the rapid rise in the price of crude oil, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister has expressed doubts about the recovery in demand.

“The decision to keep quotas unchanged signals the group’s intention to withdraw more inventories, without worrying about strengthening the market,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

“It also suggests they see little threat from increased production elsewhere.”

However, the Energy Minister of the world’s third largest importer of crude oil, India, said rising prices could threaten the recovery in 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 firm Baker Hughes Co. said Friday.