Oil prices traded higher early Monday after
BP
said it is pausing shipments through the Red Sea after attacks on vessels over the weekend.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, added 1.9% to $72.79 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, also increased 1.9%, to $78.08 a barrel.
BP said the transit through the Red Sea, which links up to the Suez Canal in the Middle East, would be temporarily suspended. In a separate development pushing prices higher, Russia said Sunday that it may reduce crude output this month by an additional 50,000 barrels a day or more.
On the other hand, concerns about the outlook for energy demand are still weighing on oil prices, which have dropped 10% this year. Economic growth looks set to weaken in 2024 after the most aggressive interest-rate increases in decades from the Federal Reserve and a meager recovery from Covid-19 era lockdowns in China.
BP shares rose 2% in early trading.
Exxon Mobil
was 1% higher, and
Chevron
gained 0.8%.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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