- First Citizens agrees to take over the failed SVB
- Putin is escalating geopolitical tensions with nuclear weapons talks
- Moscow is on the verge of hitting a 500,000 bpd production cut
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday as investors assessed authorities’ efforts to rein in concerns over the global banking system, while Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to plant tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus stoked tensions in tightened Europe.
Brent crude futures were up 74 cents, or 1%, to $75.73 a barrel by 09:00 GMT. West Texas Intermediate U.S. Crude was up 70 cents, or 1%, at $69.96.
Brent rose 2.8% last week while WTI rallied 3.8% as nervousness in the banking sector eased.
“Short-term oil prices are likely to remain volatile, impacted by the current financial market turmoil, but we maintain our positive outlook,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
“We continue to expect rising Chinese crude oil imports and demand, along with lower Russian production, to tighten the oil market and lift prices in the coming quarters.”
First Citizens BancShares Inc (FCNCA.O) said it will acquire the deposits and loans of the failed Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O), closing a chapter in the crisis of confidence that has rocked financial markets.
There are also hopes of additional support for bank financing following reports that US authorities were in early deliberations on expanding emergency credit facilities.
Oil prices were also helped by Putin’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The move is one of Russia’s clearest nuclear signals yet and a warning to NATO about its military support for Ukraine, which has called for a UN Security Council meeting in response. NATO has criticized Putin for his “dangerous and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow is close to meeting its target of cutting crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 9.5 million bpd.
However, Russia’s crude oil exports are expected to remain steady as it curbs refinery production in April, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed on Friday.
Russia’s exports of oil products have been hit harder than its crude oil exports by a recent European Union embargo, with tons of diesel stuck on ships awaiting buyers.
Reporting by Noah Browning Additional reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Florence Tan in Singapore Editing by Jason Neely and David Goodman
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Comments are closed.