Oil held gains near the highest level in over three months after another Houthi strike on a commercial ship in the Red Sea, with tensions in the key region for crude production and trade continuing to simmer.
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed near $79 a barrel from Friday’s close. Brent settled above $83 on Monday. The crew of the Rubymar abandoned the vessel after the attack Sunday evening, the first such evacuation since the Yemen-based group started targeting ships late last year.
Oil has been trapped in a tight $10-a-barrel range since the start of the year as competing bullish and bearish factors lead to a decline in volatility. Signs of poor demand — most notably from top importer China — has been countered by geopolitical tensions and efforts by OPEC+ to trim output.
Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, pledged to improve its compliance with output cuts after the nation completes a review of external estimate of its production, according to its oil minister. – Bloomberg
