Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, driven by a temporary production halt at a Kazakh oilfield and expectations that stronger global economic growth could boost fuel demand.
Investors continued to monitor tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump against European nations opposing his bid to acquire Greenland.
The Brent crude contract advanced by $0.98, or 1.53%, settling at $64.92 per barrel.
The February West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $0.90, or 1.51%, closing at $60.34 per barrel.
Tengizchevroil, a Kazakh oil producer led by Chevron, announced on Monday that it had temporarily suspended production at the Tengiz and Korolev fields following issues with the power distribution system.
Sources indicated on Tuesday that the Tengiz field could remain shut for another seven to ten days, a disruption expected to reduce crude exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
"The Tengiz field is one of the world's largest, so this shutdown is certainly going to disrupt crude flows," stated Ajay Parmar, Director of Energy and Refining at ICIS. "However, the disruption appears genuinely temporary, so we anticipate prices will retreat if the tariff rhetoric persists," he added.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, noted that better-than-expected Chinese fourth-quarter GDP data released on Monday also provided support to the oil market. "The resilience shown by the world's largest oil importer has boosted demand sentiment," he said.
Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM, mentioned that the International Monetary Fund's upward revision of its global growth forecast for the year, coupled with stronger diesel prices, also contributed to the rise in oil prices.
A weaker U.S. dollar provided additional support for oil prices, as a depreciated dollar can make dollar-denominated purchases relatively cheaper, thereby stimulating oil demand.
Over the weekend, concerns about a resurgence in trade tensions intensified after President Trump stated he would impose an additional 10% tariff on imports from EU member states Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, as well as from the UK and Norway, starting February 1. He warned that these tariffs could rise to 25% by June 1 if no agreement is reached regarding Greenland.
ICIS's Parmar suggested that Trump's tariff threats have a negative impact on crude prices, as such tariffs could lead to a slowdown in global economic growth, subsequently reducing the growth in oil demand.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on Tuesday that the EU's executive body is developing a set of measures to support Arctic security and described the imposition of tariffs as a mistake.
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