Oil rose amid a broader rally in stocks after a three-day slide, with investors continuing to weigh the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 lockdowns across top crude importer China. Futures in New York climbed above $97 a barrel after slumping 13% over the past three sessions. The war has severely disrupted Russian oil flows, and the International Energy Agency predicted output from the key OPEC+ member will drop by about a quarter next month.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he’s optimistic Saudi Arabia may raise output after a meeting with the kingdom’s Crown Prince, but he got no guarantees that would occur. While buyers are shunning Russian crude despite heavy discounts, the nation is planning little change to loadings of its flagship Urals crude from its Baltic and Black Sea ports in early April. It’s not clear whether the shipments will all be able to find buyers, so actual loadings may be different.