Oil jumps on supply risks

NEW YORK: Oil prices gained more than $2 a barrel on Monday on supply jitters, as a key pipeline supplying the United States closed and Russia threatened a production cut even as China's loosening Covid-19 restrictions bolstered the fuel demand outlook.

Brent crude futures were up $2.38, or 3.1 percent, at $78.48 a barrel by 1602 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.88, or 4. percent, at $73.90 a barrel. Last week, Brent and WTI fell to their lowest since December 2021 as investors worried a possible global recession could hurt oil demand.

Traders worried about how long Canada's TC Energy Corp would take to clean up and restart its Keystone oil pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of oil leaked last week, the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade.

TC Energy shut the pipeline after the spill was discovered late last Wednesday in Kansas. The company told officials in Washington County, Kansas, that they have not yet determined the cause and were excavating around the 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line, a critical artery shipping heavy Canadian crude to U.S. refiners.