Oil prices jumped on Wednesday, as the European Union spelled out plans to phase out imports of Russian oil, raising concerns about further market tightness as those nations hunt for adequate supply, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Crude benchmarks have risen steadily over the past two months following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Until now, the European Union has been reluctant to fully cut off imports of Russian oil and gas, and its plans still do not suggest a full ban for all EU members. Europe imports some 3.5 MM barrels of Russian oil and oil products daily, and also depends on Moscow's gas supplies.
"Inventories are so tight, so against this backdrop, when you're talking about this ban, there are a lot of questions on how (Europe) is going to make up for this," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. Brent crude futures settled up USD5.17, or 4.9%, to USD110.14 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at USD107.81 a barrel, up USD5.40, or 5.3%.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed a phased oil embargo on Russia, as well as sanctioning Russia's top bank. The Commission's measures include phasing out supplies of Russian crude within six months and refined products by the end of 2022, von der Leyen said. She also pledged to minimise the impact of the move on European economies.
Hungary and Slovakia, however, will be able to continue buying Russian crude oil until the end of 2023 under existing contracts, an EU source told Reuters. Russia could offset the loss of one of its primary customers by selling oil to other importers including India and China. Neither country has stopped buying from Moscow.
As per MRC, Oil prices fell on Monday as concerns over weak economic growth in China, the world's top oil importer, overshadowed fears supply might be crimped by a potential European Union ban on Russian crude. Brent crude futures were down USD3.73, or 3.4%, to $103.41 a barrel at 1403 GMT, while U.S. WTI crude futures fell USD3.98, or 3.8%, to USD100.71 a barrel. Markets in Japan, Britain, India and across Southeast Asia were closed for public holidays on Monday. China released data showing factory activity in the world's second-largest economy contracted for a second month to its lowest since February 2020 because of COVID lockdowns.
mrchub.com