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Oil price leaps after OPEC+ keeps output unchanged and Ukraine attacks - YAHOO FINANCE
Oil (BZ=F, CL=F)
Oil prices edged higher on Monday after OPEC+ opted to keep production plans unchanged, while Ukrainian drone strikes on two Russian “shadow fleet” tankers revived concerns over supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures rose 1.7% to $63.44 per barrel at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed 1.9% to $59.65 a barrel.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said the reaction in US crude prices reflected expectations of tighter market management. “US crude is up more than 2% this morning as OPEC reiterated yesterday that they want to stabilise oil prices into next year, implying tighter control of output to address the supply glut that has weighed on prices – except during brief periods of geopolitical tension,” she said.
“And even those tensions haven’t been enough lately to bring buyers back, which shows how much oil is currently sloshing around the planet. As discussed in previous reports, OPEC alone can’t reverse the broader negative price dynamic, but it can help put a floor under the latest selloff.”
Geopolitical risks also returned to focus after Ukrainian naval drones struck two sanctioned Russian tankers in the Black Sea. The incident raised the possibility of further curbs to Russian supply, particularly after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which moves more than 1% of global oil, halted operations last weekend when a mooring at its Black Sea terminal was damaged in a separate Ukrainian drone attack.
Oil prices have come under sustained pressure in recent months, logging a fourth consecutive monthly decline in November after the International Energy Agency projected a record surplus in 2026. Brent crude is down 15% so far this year.
Stephen Innes, at SPI Asset Management, said the OPEC+ announcement “marks a subtle but important shift: after releasing roughly 2.9 million barrels per day back into the market since April 2025, the coalition has decided that regaining market share is less urgent than preserving what’s left of the price floor”.
Jim Reid, analyst at Deutsche Bank, added that the market remained restrained as traders grew “cautious on the prospects of a possible peace deal in Ukraine”.
