Brent Falls to $100 over Russian Oil Embargo Uncertainty

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Brent took a worse turn as uncertainty remained about the expected sanction on Russian energy, losing 0.5 per cent or 49 cents to trade at $100.58 as the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 0.6 per cent or 63 cents to sell at $96.03 per barrel.

European Union envoys are set to approve a ban on Russian coal that would take full effect from mid-August, a month later than initially planned, following pressure from Germany to delay the measure.

The phase-out of EU imports of Russian oil is the cornerstone measure in the fifth package of sanctions against Russia that the EU Commission proposed this week, as a reaction to civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Once approved, it will be the EU’s first ban on any import of energy from Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Oil and gas, which represent far bigger imports from Moscow, are still untouched as the bloc’s dependence serves as a huge risk factor.

Meanwhile, one of the world’s importers, India has continued purchases of discounted Russian crude oil imports, pushing out what analysts had predicted would be a loss of 2-3 million barrels per day of Russian oil from the global market.

Prices were also depressed as multiple outbreaks of the coronavirus have prompted widespread lockdowns in Shanghai, the most populous city in China. This is spurring tensions as it has disrupted the return to normalcy.

This was further compounded by moves by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release 60 million barrels on top of a 180 million-barrel release announced by the United States last week to help drive down fuel prices.

It is not clear what most of them will release but Japan will release 15 million barrels of oil from state and private reserves.

Analysts noted that although this is the biggest release since the stockpile was created in 1980, it will fail to ultimately change the fundamentals in the oil market while others say the release of the stock will be a big relief amid concerns over the tight market.