Oil jumps 4% on fears Suez Canal blockage may last weeks

New York, Mar 27 (Reuters): Oil prices rose more than 4% on worries global supplies of crude and refined products could be disrupted for weeks as workers try to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal.
It was a rebound from a sharp decline the previous session on concerns that fresh coronavirus lockdowns in Europe would hurt demand.
Brent crude rose $2.62, or 4.2%, to settle at $64.57 a barrel, after dropping 3.8% on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $2.41, or 4.1%, to settle at $60.97 a barrel, having tumbled 4.3% a day earlier. Brent rose 0.1% over the last week, while WTI dropped 0.7%, its third weekly loss.
Oil trade was volatile this week, as traders weighed the potential impact of the Suez Canal blockage which happened on Tuesday against the effect of new coronavirus lockdowns.
‘The market is up again as traders in a change of heart decided that the Suez Canal blockade is actually becoming more significant for oil flows and supply deliveries than they previously concluded,’ said Paola Rodriguez Masiu, Rystad Energy’s vice president of oil markets.
Of the 39.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of total seaborne crude in 2020, 1.74 million bpd went through the Suez Canal, according to data intelligence firm Kpler. Additionally, 1.54 million bpd of refined oil products flow through the canal, about 9% of global seaborne oil product trade, Kpler said.
There were 10 vessels waiting at the entry points of the Canal carrying around 10 million barrels of oil, Kpler said.

Reeling from the blockage in the Suez Canal, shipping rates for oil product tankers have nearly doubled this week, and several vessels were diverted.
The oil markets were also lifted by worries over escalating geopolitical risk in the Middle East. Yemen’s Houthi forces said they launched attacks on facilities owned by Saudi Aramco.
Prices also drew support from expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will maintain lower production.
Goldman Sachs said it expects OPEC+ to keep production unchanged for May when the group meets next week, ‘with a still large ramp-up of 3.4 million barrels per day expected by September.’
Acting a week ahead of the OPEC+ meeting, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has deepened crude oil supply cuts to Asian customers in June to 10%-15% from 5%-15% in May, several sources said.