Oil prices traded firmer on Monday morning following additional attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the weekend, experts said, adding, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium had to suspend loadings at its terminals after one of the moorings was damaged by Ukrainian attacks.
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Crude oil futures traded higher on Monday morning after the OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies) reaffirmed its decision to pause production hikes in the first quarter of 2026.
At 9.55 am on Monday, February Brent oil futures were at $63.40, up by 1.64 per cent, and January crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $59.56, up by 1.73 per cent. December crude oil futures were trading at ₹5342 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹5324, up by 0.34 per cent, and January futures were trading at ₹5329 against the previous close of ₹5320, up by 0.17 per cent.
A press release by OPEC+ said the eight OPEC+ countries (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman), which previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and November 2023, met virtually on November 30, to review global market conditions and outlook.
The eight participating countries reaffirmed their decision on November 2 to pause production increments in January, February, and March 2026 due to seasonality.
“The eight participating countries reiterated that the 1.65 million barrels per day may be returned in part or in full subject to evolving market conditions and in a gradual manner. The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability, they reaffirmed the importance of adopting a cautious approach and retaining full flexibility to continue pausing or reverse the additional voluntary production adjustments, including the previously implemented voluntary adjustments of the 2.2 million barrels per day announced in November 2023,” it said.
In their Commodities Feed for Monday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said the group’s move to pause production hike was largely expected. The group will review the maximum sustainable production capacity of members, which will serve as a reference for 2027 production baselines. This could certainly lead to disagreement among members with countries keen to secure higher baselines, they said.
Oil prices traded firmer on Monday morning following additional attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the weekend, they said, adding, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) had to suspend loadings at its terminals after one of the moorings was damaged by Ukrainian attacks. The CPC terminal is located at Novorossiysk port in Russia, predominantly shipping Kazakhstan crude oil. It’s been on the receiving end of several attacks recently. The latest incident saw Kazakhstan activate a plan to redirect exports. Shipments from the CPC terminal have averaged around 1.48 million barrels a day so far this year, up roughly 2,00,000 barrels a day from last year, as the expansion of the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan supported exports, they said.
Adding support to the market is increasing supply risks for Venezuelan crude oil after US President Donald Trump said he’s considering closing the airspace over the nation. This escalation between the US and Venezuela has the US carrying out strikes on boats it claims are carrying drugs, while also building its military presence nearby. Venezuela exports around 8,00,000 barrels a day, of which most of the crude oil will head to China. Clearly, any further escalation puts this supply at risk, they said.
December natural gas futures were trading at ₹433.10 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹425.70, up by 1.74 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), December turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹14,860 in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹14,716, up by 0.98 per cent.
December jeera futures were trading at ₹22,100 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of ₹22,205, down by 0.47 per cent.
Published on December 1, 2025