The war in Ukraine rages on with no appreciable signs of a potential peace treaty in the offing after Ukraine in no uncertain terms denied Russia's demand to surrender the port city of Mariupol, which has been under siege by Russian forces throughout the past few weeks.

At the same time, the most recent report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies in OPEC+ reveals that a couple of member nations producing less than agreed, while the two countries capable of boosting output immediately – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have refused to do so.

These developments have stoked market concerns that it could prove difficult to replace Russian oil in the short run.

A barrel of European reference crude Brent costs USD 111.34 Monday morning against USD 106.97 Friday afternoon. US counterpart West Texas Intermediate trades concurrently at USD 108.09 against USD 103.76 Friday afternoon.

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Stalled peace talks maintain oil price gains