The oil prices rose on Monday, in a market tense due to the prospect of new European sanctions against Russia that could affect Russian hydrocarbon exports.
The price of a barrel North Sea Brent for June delivery thus gained 3.00% to $107.53.
While the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May it gained 4.03% to 103.28 dollars.
Members of the European Union They were discussing new “urgent” sanctions against Moscow on Monday, after hundreds of bodies were discovered in the areas recently recaptured by the Ukrainian army, particularly in the city of Bucha.
On Sunday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht raised the possibility of an embargo on Russian gas, in a stance that seemed to change Germany’s staunch opposition to such a move.
His German finance colleague, Christian Lindner, said on Monday that his country cannot ignore Russian imports “in the short term.”
“This is what rules the market today” Monday, said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research (SEER). “These reactions to the atrocities and the potential for even tougher sanctions and/or European customers further rejecting Russian oil, would further strain the market,” he summarized.
These tensions offset a series of bearish elements for prices, such as the greater number of cases of Covid-19 in China since the peak at the beginning of 2020, registered on Sunday. Several million people are confined this Monday.
kg