Intraday Brent touches August high; WTI highest since October
US sanctions to disrupt Russian oil supplies to China, India
Chinese, Indian refiners seek alternatives to Russian oil

SINGAPORE, Jan 13 Reuters Oil prices extended gains for a third session on Monday, with Brent rising above 80 a barrel to its highest in more than four months, as wider U.S. sanctions are expected to affect Russian crude exports to top buyers China and India.

Brent crude futures climbed 1.14, or 1.43, to 80.90 a barrel by 0741 GMT after hitting an intraday high of 81.49, the highest since Aug. 27.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.20, or 1.57 to 77.77 a barrel after touching a high of 78.39, the most since Oct. 8.

Brent and WTI have risen by more than 6 since Jan. 8, and both contracts surged after the U.S. Treasury imposed wider sanctions on Russian oil on Friday. The new sanctions included producers Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, targeting the revenue Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine.

Russian oil exports will be hurt severely by the new sanctions, pushing China and India, the world39;s top and thirdlargest oil importers respectively, to source more crude from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, which will boost prices and shipping costs, traders and analysts said.

Friday39;s announcement strengthens our view that the risks to our 7085 Brent range forecast are skewed to the upside in the short term,…