Oil prices steady after loadings resume at Russian export hub

Oil prices steadied on Monday as loadings resumed at Russia's Novorossiysk export hub after a two-day suspension at the Black Sea port that had been hit by a Ukrainian attack.

Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $64.46 a barrel by 1415 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude firmed by 3 cents, also 0.1%, to $60.12.

Both benchmarks rose more than 2% on Friday to end the week with a modest gain after exports were suspended at Novorossiysk and a neighbouring Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, affecting the equivalent of 2% of global supply.

Novorossiysk resumed oil loadings on Sunday, according to two industry sources and LSEG data. However, Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure remain in focus.

Ukraine's military said on Saturday that it hit Russia's Ryazan oil refinery, and Kyiv's General Staff said on Sunday that the Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia's Samara region had also been struck.

"Investors are trying to gauge how Ukraine's attacks will affect Russia's crude exports in the long term," said Fujitomi Securities analyst Toshitaka Tazawa.

Investors are also monitoring the impact of Western sanctions on Russian supply and trade flows. The United States imposed sanctions banning deals with Russian oil companies Lukoil  and Rosneft  after November 21 to try to push Moscow towards peace talks over Ukraine.