ISLAMABAD: Crude oil prices rose over 5 percent on Tuesday amid supply concerns, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict drags on. As of 1240 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $5.16 (+5.27 percent) to reach $103.13 a barrel. The benchmark touched a seven-year high of $105.79 after the invasion began last week. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, reached $100.10 a barrel, up by $4.38 (+4.58 percent). The contract touched a high of $99.10 a barrel the previous day, ending up more than 4%. read more TLTP
The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $96.67 a barrel with a decrease of 4.50 percent, Arab Light was available at $97.33 a barrel with a decrease of 1.81 percent and the price of Russian Sokol slipped to $97.49 a barrel with 3.28 percent increase.
The investors weighed on a coordinated international release of crude inventories against Russian supply disruptions in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Concerns over tightening supplies come as significant oil and gas companies, including BP and Shell, have announced plans to exit Russian operations and joint ventures. Buyers of Russian oil are also facing difficulty over payments, and vessel availability as Western sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine take hold.
Russia’s economic isolation deepened as the world’s biggest shipping firm Maersk on Tuesday said it would halt container movement to and from Russia. Britain, meanwhile, has banned all ships with any Russian connection from entering British ports.
The Opec+ will meet on Wednesday; however, the group is not expected to be able to control the wild swings in oil prices. The Opec+ members boosted their production by 64,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December and January, which was far below the target of a 400,000-bpd increase that the group has been aiming for since May 2021 when it embarked on a gradual reopening of the taps to accompany the global economic recovery after the shock of the first waves of Covid-19.
