Brent jumps past $ 70 for the first time since pandemic began after Saudi facilities attacked

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude futures rose above $ 70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, while U.S. crude touched its highest in more than two years, according to reports of attacks at Saudi Arabian facilities.

Brent crude futures for May hit $ 71.38 a barrel in early Asian trading, the highest since January 8, 2020 and were $ 71.11 a barrel at $ 0255 GMT, up $ 1.75 or 2.5% .

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for April rose $ 1.60, or 2.4%, to $ 67.69. The previous month’s WTI price previously reached $ 67.98 per barrel, the highest since October 2018.

Asian stocks also rose after the U.S. Senate approved a $ 1.9 billion stimulus bill, while positive economic data from the United States and China bode well for a global economic recovery.

Yemen’s Houthi forces on Sunday fired drones and missiles into the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, including a Saudi Aramco plant in Ras Tanura that is essential for petroleum exports, in which Riyadh launched a failed attack on the global energy security.

“We can see further upwards in the market in the short term, especially since the market is likely to have to price some sort of risk premium now, with these attacks picking up regularly,” ING analysts said in a report, pointing out that second attack this month after an incident in Jeddah on March 4.

Brent and WTI prices are rising for the fourth consecutive session after OPEC and its allies decided to keep production cuts largely unchanged in April.

Despite rapidly rising crude prices, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister has expressed doubts about the recovery in demand.

“The decision to keep quotas unchanged indicates the group’s intention to pull stocks without tightening the market,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

“It also indicates that they can see little of the threat of increasing production elsewhere.”

However, the energy minister in the world’s third largest crude importer, India, said higher prices could threaten consumer-led recovery in some countries.

Higher prices have also encouraged U.S. energy companies to add oil and natural gas installations for a second week in a row, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co. said Friday.