SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) – Oil prices climbed on Monday (April 18) as supplies from Libya were interrupted and Russia warned of the potential for record prices if more nations ban its energy.

West Texas Intermediate rose 1.2 per cent to US$108.21 a barrel at 8.56am Singapore time after rallying last week by the most in two months. Brent crude was 1.5 per cent higher at US$113.39.

Two Libyan ports have been forced to stop loading oil after protests against Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, with output halted at El Feel, an oil field that yields 65,000 barrels a day. Crude’s market structure moved deeper into a bullish pattern, with Brent’s prompt spread back above US$1 a barrel.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that if more nations banned Russian energy flows, prices may “significantly exceed” historic highs. The United States and Britain have moved to bar crude from the country after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and there is pressure for the European Union to follow.

Oil has rallied this year in volatile trading as the war in Ukraine disrupted supplies in an already tight global market. The surge spurred the US and its allies to announce the release of millions of barrels from strategic reserves to contain inflationary pressures. Opec and its partners have declined to raise the pace at which they are restoring output shuttered during the pandemic.

In a weekend phone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave a “positive assessment” of their efforts to stabilise the oil market, suggesting that no change in production policy is likely. The two nations lead the alliance that groups the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, known as Opec+.

Traders were also monitoring the impact of anti-coronavirus curbs in China, which has ordered a slew of lockdowns including in Shanghai. While the commercial hub has plans to allow people to return to workplaces, there is no firm timetable to do so. The city has reported its first Covid-19 fatalities from the current outbreak.

Crude markets are backwardated, a bullish pattern marked by near-term prices above longer-dated ones. Brent’s prompt spread – the gap between its two nearest contracts – was US$1.07 a barrel in backwardation, up from 21 cents a week ago.

Oil’s surge this year has been part of a wider advance in energy commodities that has seen prices extend gains even as the outlook for global economic growth dims.

On Monday, US natural gas prices hit the highest level in more than 13 years as robust demand tests drillers’ ability to expand supplies.