Sanctioned Russia becomes China's main source of oil
The trade sanctions imposed by western nations along with the European Union on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have meant that one of the biggest oil and gas exporters is now left with additional stocks of the two resources with nowhere to send them to.
Members of the oil cartel OPEC and their partners agreed Tuesday to raise output slightly in February and March.
Crude oil prices have picked up by 25 percent since the beginning of the month and have returned to roughly their pre-pandemic levels.
Shutdowns also dampen demand for oil, which saw prices tumble more than 5 percent.
The optimism on trading floors was shattered when Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell signalled the world's top economy would take some time to bounce back.
The easing of restrictions was providing a much-needed boost to oil markets.
Officials warned that a return to normal would take time as overseas demand for exports remained limited.
Oil markets have been ravaged this year after the pandemic was compounded by a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Investors are keeping an eye on Washington, where Congress and the White House are working towards a $450 billion economic relief plan.
After a Sunday videoconference, the top producers agreed to slash daily production by 9.7 million barrels from May.
The rally followed months of slumping prices after the COVID-19 outbreak sapped demand as countries around the world are under lockdown.
Attention this week will be on a planned meeting of OPEC and other key crude producers.
On currency markets the dollar fell back against high-yielding, riskier units after surging Monday.
The explosions come just weeks after two of Saudi Arabia's biggest oil installations were hit
Situation becomes more volatile as Trump awaits definitive information on who is responsible behind attacks.
There seems to be enough market evidence to indicate $80 oil by the summer.
The prevailing uncertainty in the oil market abetted by OPEC production cuts, the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela oil and other factors can snowball into an energy crunch and impact oil price, warned an industry expert.
Big Oil had a good year in 2018, helped mostly by higher oil prices.
With oil demand growth slowing, it's entirely possible that U.S. production alone will increase more than global demand in the next few years.
Tensions mount between Europe and Donald Trump's White House over Iran sanctions.
32 crew members of the Iranian vessel Sanchi are missing while all those aboard the Chinese ship CF Crystal have been accounted for.
