NEW YORK/LONDON: Oil prices rose more than 1percent on Monday on concerns that intensifying airstrikes in Russia and Ukraine could lead to supply disruptions, while a weaker dollar lent additional support to benchmarks.
Brent crude futures were up 70 cents, or 1percent, at USD68.18 a barrel by 12:20 p.m. ET (1620 GMT).
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by 76 cents, or 1.2percent, to USD64.77. Trading is expected to be muted because of a US public holiday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday vowed to retaliate against Russian drone strikes on power facilities in his country’s north and south, and ordered more strikes deep inside Russia.
Three and a half years into the war, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified airstrikes in recent weeks, even as efforts are underway to resolve the crisis.
Markets remain concerned about Russian oil flows, with weekly shipments from its ports dropping to a four-week low of 2.72 million barrels per day (bpd), according to tanker tracker data cited by ANZ analysts.
Elsewhere, the US labour market report this week will give a read on the economy’s health and test investor confidence that interest rate cuts are coming soon, a view that has strengthened appetite for riskier assets such as commodities.
Ahead of the data, the dollar was close to a five-week low on Monday, making oil less expensive for buyers using other currencies..
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