Oil Market In The Dumps As Analysts Hope For Good News From India, U.S.

An end to the U.S. government shutdown is also keenly anticipated: File Image/Pixabay

The familiar battle for attention between glut concerns on one hand and supply tightness on the other continued Monday, with traders leaning towards the former as something to fret about – and causing two key benchmarks to eke out modest gains.

After analysts debated possible supply disruptions stemming from the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia in a bid to force negotiated peace with Ukraine, Brent settled up 43 cents at $64.06 per barrel.

West Texas Intermediate settled up 38 cents to $60.13 per barrel.

The concerns over Russia involved Lukoil's Volgograd refinery halting operations last week after it was struck by Ukrainian drones;  Lukoil on Monday also declared force majeure at Iraq's giant West Qurna-2 oilfield.

Patrick De Haan, analyst at GasBuddy, wrote that in addition to Russia, "Refinery issues in the Great Lakes and West Coast have kept prices elevated," and he added that thousands of U.S. flight cancellations due to the federal government shutdown could create more demand.

Still, there was no denying oil is in a slump, and Bloomberg noted that "U.S. oil futures have shed about 16 percent this year after posting losses for the past three months."

A potential influencer for oil trading in the days to come may be India: U.S. president Donald Trump said he was "pretty close" to a trade deal with New Delhi, now that it has stopped buying Russian oil.

Trading may also be swayed by the U.S. Senate advancing a funding bill expected to end the 40-day government shutdown, which analysts believe could temporarily boost fuel demand.