Around 11:30 am, Brent took 1.00% to 101.59 dollars. The WTI gained 1.17% to 97.17 dollars.
Oil prices recovered on Friday, following the losses of the previous day, caught between the release of strategic reserves from consumer countries, the drop in Russian supply and the erosion of demand from China.
Around 09:30 GMT (11:30 CET), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in June took 1.00% to 101.59 dollars.
A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in May gained 1.17% to 97.17 dollars.
“Oil prices came under further pressure” on Thursday followingnoon, commented Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank.
If the two black gold benchmarks record a second straight weekly loss, Brent remains up more than 30% since the start of the year, and WTI by nearly 29%.
“The massive release of oil from emergency reserves that has been announced by consuming countries is likely to ease the supply situation significantly,” he said.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), outside the United States, has indeed promised to draw 60 million barrels from their emergency reserves. An announcement that follows United States President Joe Biden’s commitment to release an additional 180 million barrels in the coming months.
“However, despite these unprecedented volumes, doubts remain as to whether this influx of supply will make it possible to fill the deficit in Russian crude”, tempers Stephen Brennock of PVM Energy.
“Russia is forced to reduce its oil production because of the strike by Western buyers,” says Carsten Fritsch.
According to him, this is the most pronounced drop in production (500,000 barrels per day less than the March average) since the voluntary reductions implemented by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+). ) in March 2020, to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The European Parliament called in a resolution adopted Thursday for the imposition of a “total and immediate” embargo on imports of “oil, coal, nuclear fuel and gas” from Russia.
But “doubts are also omnipresent regarding Europe’s ability to wean itself off Russian energy supplies,” said Stephen Brennock, Russian oil representing 25% of total European oil imports and Russian gas 45% of the total.
“The extension of the confinement in Shanghai by the city authorities undoubtedly contributed to the fall in prices”, continues Carsten Fritsch.
Almost all of Shanghai’s 25 million people were confined on Saturday, as China faces its worst outbreak in two years.
“This means that the economic metropolis of 25 million inhabitants, which represents around 4% of Chinese oil demand, is condemned to remain at a standstill”, he underlines.
