Oil climbs as tensions flare in Europe, Middle East

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By Florence Tan and Mohi Narayan

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Oil prices gained on Monday supported by geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East, although the prospect of more oil supply and concerns about the impact of trade tariffs on global fuel demand weighed.

Brent crude futures <LCOc1> rose 45 cents, or 0.67%, to $67.13 a barrel by 0701 GMT while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for October was at $63.15 a barrel, up 47 cents, or 0.75%.

The October WTI contract expires on Monday and the more active November contract rose 43 cents, or 0.69%, to $62.83 a barrel.

“Reports over the weekend that Russia was threatening over the Polish border have provided traders with a timely reminder of the ongoing risks to European energy security from the north east,” said Michael McCarthy, CEO of investment platform Moomoo Australia and New Zealand.

Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early on Saturday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting western Ukraine near the border with Poland, armed forces of the NATO-member country said.

The deployment came after three Russian military jets violated NATO Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes on Friday, while on Sunday, Germany’s air force reported that a Russian military plane entered neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea.

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Estonia’s accusation that Russian fighter jets violated its airspace, diplomats said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine stepped up drone attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, hitting terminals and refineries, while U.S. President Donald Trump has urged the European Union to halt Russian oil and gas purchases.

In Middle East news, four Western nations recognised a Palestinian state, prompting a furious response from Israel and adding to jitters in the key oil-producing region.

Brent and WTI settled down more than 1% on Friday to mark a slight decline last week as worries about large supplies and declining demand outweighed expectations that the year’s first interest-rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve would trigger more consumption.

Iraq has increased oil exports following the gradual unwinding of voluntary production cuts under an OPEC+ agreement, the country’s state oil marketer SOMO said on Sunday.

Iraq’s oil exports averaged 3.38 million barrels per day in August, according to the oil ministry. SOMO expects September’s average exports to range from 3.4 million to 3.45 million bpd.

“Rising inventories over the past six months have also confirmed that supply has been outpacing demand,” Tim Evans said in the newsletter Evans on Energy.

“Increased strategic reserves accumulated by China and the U.S. have helped soak up the surplus, but the added inventories still reduce the near-term upside potential for prices and leave the downside open,” Evans said.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jacqueline Wong)