Brent Crude: Oil tumbled nearly 8% to as low as $104.2 per barrel on Monday, extending last week’s decline on hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war while fresh lockdowns in China clouded the outlook for demand.
Ukraine and Russia resumed talks on Monday even as Moscow intensified fighting in Kyiv overnight, providing some relief from supply concerns that have kept oil prices at multi-year highs. In addition to the bearish tone were surging coronavirus cases in China,
which already led to new lockdowns and raised fears about slowing demand from the world’s largest crude oil importer. The international benchmark touched a 14-year high of $139.13 last week before reversing and closing the week sharply lower as traders assessed potential improvements to the supply outlook disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions.