ISLAMABAD: Crude oil prices eased on Wednesday after the US imposed sanctions on Russia but stopped short of targeting its energy industry. Moreover, prospects of a breakthrough in nuclear talks with Iran also eased market pressure. The oil prices have been trimming since Tuesday after nearing the $100 a barrel mark. As of 1300 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.20 (-0.21%) to reach $96.64 a barrel. Brent crude futures have been easing off since hitting $99.50 a barrel on Tuesday. On the other hand, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price reached $91.63 a barrel, down by $0.28 (-0.30%). WTI crude futures have been easing off since hitting $95.81 a barrel a day earlier. TLTP
The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $94.28 a barrel with an increase of 1.61 percent, Arab Light was available at $95.91 a barrel with an increase of 4.16 percent and the price of Russian Sokol went up to $97.84 a barrel with 3.33% increase.
The US sanctions described as part of a first tranche of measures against Moscow are not as strong as some analysts had expected. Calling Russia’s decision an invasion, US President Joe Biden announced punitive measures against two Russian banks, the sale of the country’s sovereign debt abroad and some of Russia’s richest people.
The experts said that these sanctions look rather mild, adding it seems that Washington does not intend to employ the full panoply of sanctions at its disposal. They said that the softer-than-feared sanctions somewhat helped lift market sentiment.
At the same time, the potential return of more Iranian crude to the market, with Tehran and world powers close to reviving a nuclear agreement, also kept a lid on prices, which hit seven-year highs in the previous session.
Russia accounted for about 12 percent of global crude oil exports in 2020 and about 10 percent of total oil product exports. It supplies 25 percent of the world’s natural gas exports and is also a major producer of industrial metals.
