Oil prices climb 2% to 2-week high on geopolitical tension concerns

Oil prices climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high, as persistent geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the U.S. and Iran looked set to keep sanctions on both Russia and Iran in place for longer.

Brent crude futures rose $1.11, or 1.7%, to $65.74 a barrel at 11:21 a.m. EDT (1521 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.17, or 1.9%, to $63.69.

That puts Brent on track for its highest close since May 14 and WTI on track for its highest close since May 13.

"Risk premia have filtered back into the oil price following deep Ukraine strikes on Russia over the weekend," said analyst Harry Tchilinguirian of Onyx Capital Group.

Russia said work on trying to reach a settlement to end the war in Ukraine was extraordinarily complex and that it would be wrong to expect any imminent decisions but that it was waiting for Ukrainian reaction to its proposals.

Russia is a member of the OPEC+ group of countries and was the world's second biggest producer of crude in 2024 behind only the U.S., according to U.S. energy data.

OPEC+ includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies like Russia.