Brent crude futures extended gains for the fourth straight day gaining 1.26 percent to $77.13 a barrel on Monday, the highest since October 2018, as investors continue to follow the OPEC+ crisis.
The OPEC+ meeting to get a unanimous deal on output increase for this year and in 2022 was postponed once again on Monday with no new date being set after failing twice to reach a deal last week.
The United Arab Emirates blocked a deal by top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia that would see an output increase of two million bpd in the second half of the year, saying the extension was conditional on revising its baseline productions.
Investors worry that failure to come to an agreement could mean that major producers continue with current levels of production, pushing oil prices higher and hurting the economic recovery.
WTI crude rising towards $76 a barrel and holding their near 3-year highs, following news that OPEC+ has delayed once again the ministerial meeting on oil output policy. Major oil producers failed to reach a deal last week after UAE blocked a deal by Saudi Arabia and Russia that would see an output increase of 2 million bpd in the second half of the year, saying the extension was conditional on revising its baseline productions. In the US, meantime, energy companies increased oil and natural gas rigs for a third week out of the last four. Last week, US oil rose 1.5%, the sixth consecutive week of gains. Meanwhile, the global benchmark was down 1% last week, the first weekly decline in six, amid concerns over the rapid spread of the Delta variant of coronavirus in Asia and in some European countries.
