Oil rose back near $100 a barrel, aided by a weaker dollar that put commodities broadly on a firmer footing.

West Texas Intermediate added as much as 3.1%. European stock markets and US equity futures were higher on Monday. The dollar weakened — making commodities priced in the currency more attractive — as investors scaled back bets on how aggressively the Federal Reserve will tighten interest rates. Other raw materials including copper also gained.

Last week President Biden concluded a trip to the Middle East and said he expects further oil supply increases from Saudi Arabia to help tame fuel costs. However, local ministers insisted that policy decisions would be taken according to market logic and within the OPEC+ coalition, a grouping that includes Russia.

The US says it’s confident Gulf nations will boost oil supply but as President Biden wrapped up his visit to the kingdom, Saudi State Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir was playing down the idea of any agreement in an interview with Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.rg

Crude has slumped since mid-June as concerns about a potential recession ripped through commodity markets, eroding the gains that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the drop has been a boost for the US administration, Biden remains eager to get the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to add supplies to bring prices down further and help quell inflation. OPEC and its allies including Russia next meet on Aug. 3 after members agreed to revive the crude supplies that were halted during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We continue to expect a further tightening of the oil market, warranting higher oil prices,” UBS analysts including Giovanni Staunovo wrote in a note to clients. “Following the meeting between the US and Saudi leaders over the weekend, we learned that OPEC+ will only open the taps if the market conditions warrant it.”

PRICES:
  • WTI for August delivery was 2.6% higher at $100.14 a barrel at 9:08 a.m. in London.
  • Brent for September settlement added 2.8% to $103.96 a barrel.

Investors also focused on the return of crude shipments from Libya. Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said that the country’s exports are on track for a full resumption after months of outages as he justified his replacement of the leadership at state-run oil company National Oil Corp.