NEW YORK, May 5, 2022 (Xinhua) Oil prices rose on Thursday following a strong rally in the previous session following the European Union unveiled its plan to phase out Russian oil.
West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose 45 cents, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 108.26 US dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery rose 76 cents, or 0.7 percent, to close at 110.90 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the European Union would give up Russian supplies of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year. The plan is part of a sixth package of sanctions targeting Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.
The news raised concerns regarding tight supplies. The US oil benchmark and Brent crude rose 5.3 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, on Wednesday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies known as OPEC+ said on Thursday they would stick to the same 432,000-barrel increase in oil production in June despite higher crude prices.
Meanwhile, a strong US dollar provided headwinds to oil prices. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the US currency once morest a basket of six major currencies, jumped 1.14 percent to 103.7540 in late trading on Thursday. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the US dollar.
