Higher As Supply Worries Linger

WTI and Brent are ~$3.50 higher apiece to print ~$108.20 and ~$111.40 respectively, operating around last week’s best levels at typing.

• To recap, both benchmarks closed ~$2 higher on Friday, building on a rally earlier in the week as worry re: potential crude supply shortages arising from western sanctions on Russia countered incremental progress in ongoing Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks.
• Elsewhere, the international rush to secure alternatives to Russian energy supplies continues to develop. Germany and Qatar announced contracts for LNG supplies, although the longer-term view surrounding such developments (Germany currently has no LNG terminals) suggests that tightness in global crude and energy supply is unlikely to find near-term relief.
• Turning to the Middle East, Houthi attacks over the weekend on at least six separate sites across Saudi Arabia (including an Aramco fuel depot and an LNG plant) were confirmed by Saudi Aramco CEO Nasser as having virtually no impact on the company’s operations.