<p>Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, while US crude touched its highest in more than two years, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities.</p>.<p>Brent crude futures for May hit $71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, the highest since Jan. 8, 2020, and were at $71.11 a barrel by 0255 GMT, up $1.75, or 2.5%.</p>.<p>US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April rose $1.60, or 2.4%, to $67.69. The front-month WTI price touched $67.98 a barrel earlier, the highest since October 2018.</p>.<p>Asian stocks also rose after the US Senate approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill while positive economic data from the United States and China bode well for a global economic rebound.</p>.<p>Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security.</p>.<p>"We could see further upside in the market in the near-term, particularly as the market probably now needs to be pricing in some sort of risk premium, with these attacks picking up in frequency," ING analysts said in a report, noting that this was the second attack this month following an incident in Jeddah on March 4.</p>.<p>Brent and WTI prices are up for the fourth consecutive session after OPEC and its allies decided to keep production cuts largely unchanged in April.</p>.<p>Despite fast-rising crude prices, Saudi Arabia's oil minister has voiced doubts on demand recovery.</p>.<p>"The decision to keep quotas unchanged signals the group’s intent to drawdown inventories further, without concern of overtightening the market," ANZ analysts said in a note.</p>.<p>"It also suggests they see little threat from rising output elsewhere."</p>.<p>However, the energy minister in the world's third-largest crude importer, India, said higher prices could threaten the consumption led-recovery in some countries.</p>.<p>Higher prices have also encouraged US energy firms to add oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said on Friday.</p>
<p>Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, while US crude touched its highest in more than two years, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities.</p>.<p>Brent crude futures for May hit $71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, the highest since Jan. 8, 2020, and were at $71.11 a barrel by 0255 GMT, up $1.75, or 2.5%.</p>.<p>US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April rose $1.60, or 2.4%, to $67.69. The front-month WTI price touched $67.98 a barrel earlier, the highest since October 2018.</p>.<p>Asian stocks also rose after the US Senate approved a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill while positive economic data from the United States and China bode well for a global economic rebound.</p>.<p>Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports, in what Riyadh called a failed assault on global energy security.</p>.<p>"We could see further upside in the market in the near-term, particularly as the market probably now needs to be pricing in some sort of risk premium, with these attacks picking up in frequency," ING analysts said in a report, noting that this was the second attack this month following an incident in Jeddah on March 4.</p>.<p>Brent and WTI prices are up for the fourth consecutive session after OPEC and its allies decided to keep production cuts largely unchanged in April.</p>.<p>Despite fast-rising crude prices, Saudi Arabia's oil minister has voiced doubts on demand recovery.</p>.<p>"The decision to keep quotas unchanged signals the group’s intent to drawdown inventories further, without concern of overtightening the market," ANZ analysts said in a note.</p>.<p>"It also suggests they see little threat from rising output elsewhere."</p>.<p>However, the energy minister in the world's third-largest crude importer, India, said higher prices could threaten the consumption led-recovery in some countries.</p>.<p>Higher prices have also encouraged US energy firms to add oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said on Friday.</p>