Last update: June 1 – 2022 10:38 PM
oil- expressive
Oil prices rose on Wednesday following European Union leaders agreed to a phased ban on Russian oil and following China ended its COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, potentially boosting demand in an already tight market.
Upon settlement, Brent crude reached $116.29 a barrel, up 69 cents, or 0.6 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 59 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $115.26 a barrel.
European Union leaders agreed in principle on Monday to cut 90 percent of Russian oil imports by the end of this year, the bloc’s toughest sanctions yet since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation”.
Sanctions on crude oil will be implemented within six months and on refined products over eight months. The embargo excludes pipeline oil from Russia as a concession to Hungary and two other landlocked countries in central Europe.
In China, a strict lockdown aimed at containing the Covid-19 virus ended in Shanghai on Wednesday following two months, leading to expectations of increased demand for fuel.
Meanwhile, two OPEC+ sources said on Wednesday that members had not discussed the idea of excluding Russia from the current oil supply deal, following the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that such a move was under consideration.
OPEC+ includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia. The group is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Thursday, to set production policy.
The group has been criticized for not increasing production more quickly in the face of rising fuel prices, but Gulf countries have said most of the group’s members do not have the extra capacity to increase production.
Sources said that a technical committee in OPEC + reduced today, Wednesday, its forecast for the surplus of the oil market in 2022 by regarding 500,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day.
