Oil climbs 2pc on tight supplies

Oil prices climbed about two per cent to a four-month high on Monday on lower crude exports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia and signs of stronger demand and economic growth in China and the US. Brent futures rose $1.45, or 1.7pc, to $86.79 a barrel by 1:50pm EDT (1750 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.54, or 1.9pc, to $82.58. That pushed both benchmarks into technically overbought territory with Brent on track for its highest close since Nov 2 and WTI on track for its highest close since Oct 27. In other energy markets, US gasoline futures were on track to close at their highest price since August 2023. On the supply side, Iraq, Opec’s second-largest producer, said it would reduce crude exports to 3.3 million barrels a day (bpd) in the coming months to compensate for exceeding its Opec+ quota since January, a pledge that would cut shipments by 130,000 bpd from last month.