BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices rose Monday as Saudi Arabian oil facilities were targeted by drone strikes just days after the largest crude exporting nations in the world said they would not increase output. Brent crude, the international standard, surpassed $70 per barrel for the first time since the pandemic sent prices plunging last year. U.S. crude is also hitting pre-pandemic levels. Crude prices have surged more than 30% this year as massive vaccinations campaigns gain momentum, potentially signaling the beginning of the end of a global pandemic. The attacks in Saudi Arabia follow a devastating winter freeze in Texas and other parts of the southern United States last month knocked out production of roughly 4 million barrels per day of U.S. oil.
