Crude prices recorded increases of more than 5% at the beginning of the week today, Monday, February 28, with the opening of the European markets, where the American crude (NYMEX) is trading at levels of $ 96.16 a barrel, an increase of about 4.98%, while Brent crude is up by about 4%, trading at levels of $101.92 a barrel, coinciding with With the rise in geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia, where the West imposed new and severe sanctions on Russia, such as preventing part of its banking system from the SWIFT system.

The rise in geopolitical tensions has raised markets’ fears about a possible disruption to oil supplies from the second largest oil producer in the world (about 10% of global oil supplies come from Russia), and Europe depends on it for more than a quarter of its oil imports.

This week, the markets are awaiting the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its independent allies from outside the organization, led by Russia in the OPEC + system, where expectations indicate that the organization will adhere to its plans by adding 400,000 barrels to its production in April.

And OPEC + reduced its forecast for a surplus in the crude market in 2022 by about 200 thousand barrels to 1.1 million barrels per day, according to the report of the Technical Committee on Sunday.

The investment bank, Goldman Sachs, in its latest estimates this morning, Monday, raised its forecast for Brent crude to 115 dollars instead of 95, as the bank believes that the deterioration in demand is the only thing that can stop the price hikes.