Brent settles above $90 for first time since October on geopolitical tension

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, settling up more than $1 as geopolitical tensions and output cuts outweighed caution about U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Brent futures for June rose above $91 a barrel before settling up $1.30, or 1.5%, to $90.65. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for May settled up $1.16, or 1.4% to $86.59 a barrel, Reuters reported.

Both contracts closed on Thursday at their highest levels since October and continued to climb after the session ended, having received support in recent days from heightened geopolitical tensions and potential supply risks.

Prices were also supported after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine will eventually join NATO as support for the country remains "rock solid" among member states.

Oil's recent gains have also followed Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries that cut fuel supply and news that Mexico's state energy company Pemex requested its trading unit to cancel up to 436,000 barrels per day of crude exports this month as it prepares to process domestic oil at the new Dos Bocas refinery.

"All of these geopolitical factors happened at once, driving bullish sentiment and ultimately some profit taking," said Frank Monkam, senior portfolio manager at Altimo LLC.

A meeting of top ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) including Russia, kept oil supply policy unchanged on Wednesday and pressed some countries to boost compliance with output cuts.

The group said some members would compensate for oversupply in the first quarter. It also said Russia would switch to output rather than export curbs.

Investors will look to economic data and monetary policy for potential clues on the outlook for oil demand.

News ID 639548

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