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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) intraday gain of 0.3% owes much of its lift to ASX 200 energy shares.
The Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) share price is up 3% at the time of writing; the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is up 2%; and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) shares have gained 2.6% today.
All up the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is up 2.2%. So, what's going on?
Image source: Getty Images
Crude oil surges overnight
Brent crude oil hit 14-year highs of US$128 per barrel last Wednesday 9 March, lifting most ASX 200 energy shares along with it.
Crude prices then retraced over the past week, with Brent trading for US$98 per barrel yesterday.
The retrace was largely driven by hopes that oil-rich Russia might reach a peace deal with Ukraine. But last night Russian authorities dimmed those hopes, saying that only limited progress had been made during talks.
This saw Brent crude gain 8.8%, leaping to US$107 per barrel.
And if Morgan Stanley analysts Martijn Rats and Amy Sergeant have it right, ASX 200 energy shares could enjoy more tailwinds in 2022 with even higher crude prices.
The analysts, as reported by Bloomberg, lifted their Q3 forecast for Brent crude oil prices by US$20, bringing it to US$120 per barrel.
How have these 3 ASX 200 energy shares been tracking?
Woodside leads the pack in 2022, with its share price up 38.9% since the opening bell on 4 January.
Beach Energy shares come in second, up 21% year-to-date.
While placing third, the 14.2% gain posted by Santos is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Not when we take into account that the ASX 200 itself remains down 4.2%.
And don't forget the dividends.
Beach energy pays a 1.3% trailing dividend yield, fully franked. Santos pays a 2.7% dividend yield, 70% franked.
And Woodside, the leading ASX 200 energy share so far in 2022, pays a 6% dividend yield, fully franked.
