Oil prices fell, on Friday, following a sharp rise earlier in the session, due to fears of a possible disruption to global supplies due to sanctions imposed on Russia.
Brent crude futures for April delivery fell $1.49, or 1.5 percent, to $97.59 a barrel, following rising to $101.99.
US West Texas Intermediate crude contracts fell 60 cents to $92.25 a barrel, following hitting a session high of $95.64; As reported by “CNBC” and quoted by “Sputnik Arabi”.
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, during Thursday’s trading, with Russia launching a special military operation to protect the Donbass region, and “Brent” crude touched the level of $105, before trimming the gains later.
US President Joe Biden announced a package of sanctions on Russia on Thursday, which he says “hamper Moscow’s ability to do business in major currencies”, as well as sanctions once morest Russian banks and companies.
Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the European Union also revealed sanctions, including a move by Germany to halt certification of the Russian “Northern Stream 2” pipeline.
However, a US official said that Russian oil and gas flows would not be targeted by sanctions; Russia is the world’s second largest crude producer and a major supplier of natural gas to Europe.
Yesterday, during a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will remain a part of the world economy and does not intend to harm this system, adding that Russia is preparing for the current situation and analyzing the risks.
Commenting on the possible consequences of new Western sanctions on the high-tech sectors of the Russian economy, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: There will be problems, but they are solvable.
On the other hand, the head of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, announced that Russia was able to prepare qualitatively for the announced sanctions and to prepare all preventive measures.
