West Texas Intermediate rallied toward $115 a barrel after surging 18% over the previous three days. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said that he expects leaders to discuss, but probably not yet approve, further sanctions against Russia when they meet in Brussels later this week.
“The oil market is being repeatedly driven to the brink of pricing in the catastrophic scenario,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. The “EU is already divided on the move — I highly doubt anything will come out of it — but even though it appears to be difficult, crude may not ease until the proposed EU ban has been clearly rejected.”West Texas Intermediate for April delivery, which expires later Tuesday, added 2.2% to $114.