Oil prices soared earlier in the week amid mixed signals in talks between Ukraine-Russia and major oil producers struggling to meet OPEC production quotas.
The benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose more than 3%, bringing it to trade at around $ 111 a barrel. US WTI was up 2.5% and traded at $ 108 a barrel.
Prices moved higher in the Asian session after there were recent tensions in Saudi Arabia as Yemeni Houthi fired missiles towards energy and water facilities.
Moreover, there was also uncertainty in the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, in which Kiev rejected Russia’s request to hand over the southern port city of Mariupol.
This indirectly raises doubts over the negotiations between the two countries which are said to be getting closer to reaching an agreement by Turkey while at the same time Moscow is still continuing its attack on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ failed to meet its production target of more than 1 million barrels a day in February following major disruptions from sanctions on Russian oil.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week that the oil market is forecast to experience a supply shortage of 700,000 barrels a day in the second quarter due to the restrictions and buyers ’reluctance could cause Russian oil supplies to drop by 3 million barrels a day from April.
