Iran restarts oil exports to Afghanistan

Brent crude climbed $3.27, or 5 percent, to $68.45 a barrel by 10:40 a.m. ET (1640 GMT) after touching its lowest since May 21 at $64.60 earlier in the session.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery rose $3.31, or 5.3 percent, to $65.45.

As prices of oil and copper rebounded, the dollar slipped from multi-month highs amid doubts about the course of US monetary policy. Currencies of oil exporters, including the Colombian peso and Brazilian real, firmed about 0.4 percent each, taking cues from an over 4.5 percent jump in crude prices.

The main US oil contract soared during trading on Monday as investors were comforted about Chinese demand as no new local COVID-19 cases were signaled in the top crude-consuming country.

Iran restarted exports of gasoline and gasoil to Afghanistan a few days ago, following a request from the Taliban, Iran’s Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union said on Monday.

The price of gasoline in Afghanistan reached $900 per ton last week as many Afghans drove out of cities.

Some 150 Extinction Rebellion activists blocked access to the Norwegian energy ministry in Oslo on Monday as part of an ongoing 10-day campaign to protest against the Nordic country’s oil industry.