Oil extends gains, WTI up 2.7%

The prices of oil futures continued to add gains on Tuesday as the crisis in the Middle East pressed on, raising worries on the supply side.

Meanwhile, Russia went ahead with promised crude output slashes in December, with individuals familiar with data from the country’s Energy Ministry telling Bloomberg that the average daily crude production was at 1.306 million tons in the aforementioned month, meaning Russia pumped 9.57 million barrels per day.

WTI for deliveries in February surged 2.70% at 11:37 am ET and went for $72.71 per barrel. A minute later, Brent for settlements in March jumped 2.46% to sell for $77.93 per barrel.