Crude prices rose more than 2% on Wednesday after Moscow said peace talks with Ukraine they had reached an impasse, fueling supply concerns.
At 11:34 GMT, crude Brent rose $2.48, or 2.39%, to $107.11 a barrel, while futures for the West Texas Intermediate in the United States (WTI) they gained $2.17, or 2.16%, to $102.78. Both benchmarks advanced more than 6% on Tuesday.
“The bearish bias in crude prices is limited,” OANDA’s Jeffrey Halley said, citing Russian comments on the peace talks and US President Joe Biden’s accusation of genocide against Russia. All this “reinforces the fact that the situation between Ukraine and Russia is not going to calm down soon.”
Crude futures were also supported by Russian oil and gas condensate production, which fell below 10 million barrels per day (bpd) on Monday, its lowest level since July 2020.
The International Energy Agency The IEA said it expects Russia’s oil production losses to average 1.5 million bpd in April and losses to rise to about 3 million bpd from May.
Western sanctions against Russia and logistical constraints have hampered trade, people familiar with the data said.
The OPEC It warned that it will be impossible to replace possible supply losses from Russia and indicated that it will not pump any more crude.