MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2021) Oil prices continue their upward trajectory as fears grow over a prolonged blockage of the Suez Canal, with the main crude futures set to close out the week with about a four percent bump.
As of 19:00 GMT, UK Brent crude was trading at around $65 per barrel, 4.26 percent up day-on-day, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 4.03 percent and going for $60.92.
Despite this, both have yet to recover from the tumble in prices they experienced earlier on Monday on the back of fresh lockdowns in Europe amid spikes in coronavirus incidence rates.
Passage through the Suez Canal has been stopped since early on Monday after the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground, blocking the entire width of the waterway.
A second attempt to re-float the 224,000-tonne behemoth on Friday was unsuccessful as traffic piles up on both ends of the canal and reports emerge of some ships beginning circumnavigations of Africa.
The coming week expects to bring key developments for the global energy markets, as OPEC is set to hold energy minister meetings and the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) with OPEC+ nations.
