Shortly after 9:00 a.m., the approximately 150 liters of Brent from the North Sea for May delivery were trading at $111.43, a further jump of 6.15%. As for the same amount of WTI to be delivered in April, it was worth $110.02, a jump of 6.42%.
Oil prices continued to soar on Wednesday, with a barrel of Brent above $110 a barrel for the first time since 2014, pushed by the war in Ukraine and fears for global supply. That of the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) did the same, a first since 2013.
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., the approximately 150 liters of Brent from the North Sea for May delivery were trading at $111.43, a further jump of 6.15%. As for the same amount of WTI to be delivered in April, it was worth $110.02, a jump of 6.42%.
The invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia led the European Union and the United States in the lead to impose strong sanctions on Moscow, fueling fears that Russian exports could be cut off. Russia is the second largest exporter of crude oil in the world.
“Supply chain issues and inflationary pressures remain the primary concern of many investors around the world,” Andy McCormick, an analyst at T. Rowe Price, told AFP. The International Energy Agency (IEA), however, announced on Tuesday that its member countries would release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to stabilize the market.
Of this total, 30 million will be released by the United States, said US President Joe Biden. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict comes at a time when crude prices were already soaring due to insufficient supply and a strong recovery in demand around the world caused by the lifting, in many many countries, health restrictions imposed to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
An OPEC+ meeting, in which Russia will participate, will be held on Wednesday. Despite the surge in prices, analysts are counting on a renewal of the cautious strategy of the cartel made up of thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Riyadh, and their ten allies led by Moscow.
Natural gas also continued to take off. The benchmark market in Europe, the Dutch TTF (Title Transfer Facility), was trading at 146.47 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), taking off 19.75%.