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Oil Holds at 2014 High Amid Russia-Ukraine Escalation

by Didimax Team

Oil rose to almost $100 a barrel on Tues, touching its highest level since 2014 once Russian capital ordered troops into 2 breakaway regions in jap Ukraine. 

Benchmark Brent futures pared gains in late trading after Western governments announced sanctions aimed at halting what they fear could be the start of a full-scale Russian invasion.

Global benchmark Brent crude traded as high as $99.50 a barrel, its highest since September 2014, before settling at $96.84 with a gain of $1.52, or 1.5%.

The US and Britain declared sanctions targeting Russian banks, whereas the EU Union blacklisted a lot of politicians and Deutschland place the brakes on the $11 billion Nord Stream a pair of gas pipeline project.

The market is pumping associate degree excess risk premium as Russia enters the separatist a part of Ukraine and this worry premium is step by step being dissolved, aforesaid Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in mineral, Illinois.

A senior US State Department official said late Tuesday that nothing is happening on the ground in Ukraine now that is risking the flow of oil and gas into global oil markets.

 

Oil Moves Jump Up In 6 Months

US President Joe Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting Russian banks and sovereign debt, and vowed to impose tougher penalties going forward if Russia continued its aggression. The sanctions do not include energy supplies.

The Ukraine crisis has added further support to the soaring oil market on limited supply as demand recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply has lagged demand, so oil companies have been draining supplies to meet demand.

Brent's six-month calendar spread jumped to a $10.15 retreat on Tuesday, the steepest premium for fast oil prices versus six-month futures prices since at least 2004, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Higher underdevelopment indicates tight inventory and correlates with low stock levels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, have rejected calls for a faster supply increase.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Oil on Tuesday held to OPEC+'s view that more supply is not needed, citing the prospect of more production from Iran if its nuclear deal with world powers is revived.

Talks about restoring a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program and easing sanctions are nearing a conclusion, said a Russian envoy, which could eventually increase Iran's oil exports by more than 1 million barrels per day.

New Deal by Biden and Putin for The Future

Brent crude futures jumped $2.74, or 2.91%, to $96.28 a barrel by 14:00 ET (19:10 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $2.79, or 3.06%, to settle at $93.86 a barrel at 1915 GMT.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier on Monday that US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to a summit in Ukraine, but the Kremlin said there were no immediate plans.

The Kremlin announced that Putin would sign a decree recognizing the two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent territories. The European Union has warned it will consider sanctions if the region is recognized as independent.

US markets are closed Monday for the President's Day holiday. Oil prices are once again moving higher, as optimism for a Biden-Putin meeting fades, while OPEC+ continues to struggle to reach its quota which has largely created a severe global energy deficit.

Ministers of Arab oil-producing countries said on Sunday that OPEC+ should stick to its current deal to add 400,000 barrels per day of oil production every month, rejecting calls to pump more to ease pressure on prices.

If a Russian (Ukrainian) invasion occurs, as the US and UK have warned in recent days, Brent futures could soar above $100/bbl, even if an Iran deal is reached, Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note.