- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
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- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
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Oil prices soar on Saudi, Russian supply fears
Oil prices soared Monday as a weekend attack on Saudi facilities and EU discussions on banning Russian crude raised concerns over global supplies.
Top producer Saudi Arabia warned that Yemeni rebel attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities pose a "direct threat" to global supplies, the comments helping Brent North Sea crude surge 6.1 percent to $114.55 per barrel with WTI rising 5.5 percent to $110.48.
Stock markets traded generally flat, as Ukraine rejected a Russian ultimatum to surrender its besieged southern city of Mariupol.
"Oil prices are up noticeably as the new week of trading begins," noted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch even prior to the Saudi comments.
"The reason for the upswing is news that the EU appears to be considering a ban on oil imports from Russia."
EU foreign ministers gathered to discuss adding sanctions on Moscow, with a raft of countries pressing for a ban on Russian energy. Germany, however, is reluctant given its huge reliance on Russian gas.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that an oil embargo "is a decision that will hit everyone".
- Drone strike -
Crude futures jumped also after Yemeni rebels attacked facilities belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco.
"As war rages in Ukraine, another protracted conflict is also adding to the nervousness around the oil price after Huthi rebels attacked a refinery in Saudi Arabia," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"It's officially a temporary outage but still has undermined the effect of Saudi Aramco's pledge to ramp up production in coming years."
Drone and missile strikes by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels at the weekend caused no reported casualties.
The drone assault on the YASREF refinery in Yanbu Industrial City on the Red Sea "led to a temporary reduction in the refinery's production, which will be compensated for from the inventory," the Saudi energy ministry said.
The Saudi-led military coalition that backs Yemen's government said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles and drones launched towards Jizan and other areas in the kingdom, causing "damage" to several sites.
The Saudi foreign ministry said the kingdom "will not incur any responsibility" for shortages in oil supplies in light of the Huthi attacks.
These cross-border assaults are a "direct threat to the security of oil supplies in these extremely sensitive circumstances witnessed by the global energy markets", it added.
Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported a 124-percent surge in annual net profit owing to soaring oil prices that is fuelling inflation worldwide, in turn pushing central banks to raise interest rates that could hinder the economy's growth recovery according to experts.
Traders were cautious as they drank in the latest events affecting markets.
European and Asian stock markets were steadier after recent sharp swings, "not because views on geopolitical or policy/rates risk have improved but because price action shows a market more tolerant of those challenges", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
Wall Street was in the red in early deals.
- Key figures around 1400 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 6.1 percent at $114.55 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.5 percent at $110.48 per barrel
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,686.71
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,454.43 points
Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 14,417.36
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 6,611.78
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,901.62
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 21,221.34 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,253.69 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1038 from $1.1051 Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3183 from $1.3181
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.74 pence from 83.81 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 119.16 yen from 119.13 yen
burs-bcp-cdw/lth
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN