(LiveMint)
Key crude oil prices rose by 1% to their highest levels since late-2014 on Monday, pushed up by a deepening economic crisis in Venezuela and a looming decision on whether US will re-impose sanctions against Iran. Brent crude oil futures were at $75.57 per barrel at 12.20pm, up 70 cents, or 0.9%, from their last close. Earlier in the session, they touched their highest since November 2014 at $75.89 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 70 cents, or 1%, to $70.42 per barrel. Monday was the first time since November 2014 that WTI had climbed above $70 per barrel. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai crude oil futures, launched in March, broke their dollar-converted record-high of $71.32 per barrel by rising as far as $72.54 on Monday. Open interest and traded volumes for Shanghai crude also hit a fresh record on Monday.
Analysts warned that the deepening economic crisis in major oil exporter Venezuela threatened to further crimp its production and exports. Shannon Rivkin, investment director of Australia’s Rivkin Securities, said that oil prices had been driven up due to “growing concerns over the economic collapse of Venezuela and its oil industry, plus possible new sanctions against Iran from the Trump administration”.
