ALBAWABA - Oil futures soared on Monday, as Saudi Arabia increases crude prices for June supply across the majority of locations, as Reuters reports, coupled with possibilities of a ceasefire deal in Gaza falling short and Israeli invasion of Rafah kicking off.
At 06:36 GMT, Brent oil prices rose by 51 cents towards $83.47 a barrel, 0.6 percent, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude features saw 0.7 percent hike, climbing 53 cents for $78.64 a barrel. In contrast to both futures’ markets having their sharpest weekly declines in the previous three months in the last week, with WTI dropping 6.8 percent and Brent down over 7 percent.
According to a pricing list reviewed by Bloomberg, state-owned Saudi Aramco increased the official June cost of Arab Light crude for consumers in Asia by 90 cents towards US$2.90 a barrel over the local Oman-Dubai benchmark, in addition to lighter and heavier kinds also seeing price increases starting in May.
On Monday, Israeli occupation forces have ordered Palestinian citizens in eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, Gaza, to evacuate the area as it launches what it called a “limited scope operation,” following a night of intense Israeli bombardment on Rafah killed 22 people, including eight children, without specifying if a full-on ground invasion has begun.
"News that Israel wants to go ahead and extend its operation into Rafah, risks derailing a potential ceasefire agreement and reigniting Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions which had appeared to be easing," analyst Tony Sycamore said, according to Reuters.
