Oil prices resumed their mad dash on Thursday, with US WTI surging above $115 a barrel, a record since 2008, and Brent nearing $120, still boosted by uncertainties over oil supplies in the wake of the war in Ukraine.
Around 10 a.m. in France, the barrel of Brent from the North Sea, the benchmark for crude in Europe, took 3.12% to 116.45 dollars following climbing to 119.84 dollars. The $120 threshold has not been reached since 2012.
New York-listed West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 3.16% to $114.09 following pushing as high as $116.57, a new high not seen since September 2008.
The rise in prices, which is explained by the war in Ukraine and a “risk premium” on the oil supply from the Russian giant, is accentuated “by uncertainty (…) and the adjustment of speculative positions” , notes Tamas Vargas, analyst of PVM. “There are legitimate fears regarding the tight supply generated by the crisis in Ukraine, and the fact that the occupier and the occupied play a key role in the global energy market,” he adds. Russia is the second largest exporter of crude oil in the world.
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“Even though Western sanctions” in response to the invasion of Ukraine “did not go so far as to ban Russian exports, the country’s supply of crude oil and petroleum products was clearly affected”, in particular ” because the financial sanctions make it impossible to make oil purchases with Russia,” he points out.