Oil holds weekly advance after more Russian refineries attacked

Oil steadied after its biggest weekly advance in a month as Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries heightened geopolitical risks.

Global benchmark Brent traded above $85 a barrel after gaining 4% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was near $81. Drone strikes over the weekend hit multiple plants, some of them deep within the country’s territory. The attacks came as Vladimir Putin swept to victory in a presidential election.

Crude has broken out of its tight trading range that dominated the opening months of the year, with prices hitting the highest since November. The advance has been helped by OPEC+ cutbacks to production, and predictions for a global deficit this year. Headwinds, however, remain amid a shaky demand outlook in top importer China and persistent inflation in the US, which is muddying the path for monetary policy.

Crude’s latest leg higher has been accompanied by a jump in the number of outstanding contracts, known as open interest. Holdings of the global oil benchmark have surged to the highest level since October 2021, with a large gain seen toward the end of the last week.

In the coming days, traders will get a host of market insights from the CERAWeek conference in Houston, which starts on Monday. Among speakers scheduled on the opening day are the chief executive officers of Exxon Mobil Corp., Saudi Aramco, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE.