Biden had hoped to secure a pledge from Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production, which could ease global supply pressures. However, Brent crude rose 2.6% to $103.88 (£86.91) on Monday after Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud played down speculation of a rise in output. He said officials at the US-Saudi summit on Saturday did not discuss oil and that OPEC+ oil cartel nations would continue to assess market conditions. Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade, said: “The message is that OPEC+ is the one making the decision on oil supply and the cartel has no interest in what Biden is trying to achieve. “OPEC+ will continue to control oil supply and one country alone cannot determine oil supply – at least that’s the message traders took from Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Rising oil prices will keep the pressure on at the pumps, where drivers have faced record petrol and diesel prices. Prices have risen so high that the government asked the Competition and Markets Authority to study the market, and its initial findings raised concerns about refiners’ profit margins. But Brent crude prices have retreated from highs of around $130 in March during the early weeks of the war in Ukraine. Oil prices closed last week lower for the fifth consecutive week. Concerns about the possibility of a global recession have sent investors fleeing commodity markets. The price of copper – known as Dr Copper as it is seen as a barometer for the health of the global economy – has fallen 25% since its March peaks. Energy traders are also closely watching the price of natural gas amid falling supplies in Europe. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk Countries are scrambling to fill their natural gas storage should Russia cut off supplies, including through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which is closed for maintenance. Chemicals group Ineos, one of Europe’s biggest natural gas users, run by billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, echoed comments by Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden that the rationing could be introduced this winter. “It’s looking pretty dire for this winter now in terms of whether we’re going to hit the targets we need for storage,” Brian Gilvary, Ineos’ executive chairman, told Bloomberg Television. “If Nord Stream 1 doesn’t come back, it’s inevitable. We will definitely see rationing in Europe.”
