NEW YORK (awp/afp) – Oil prices fell on Friday, after a meteoric rise the day before, slowed down by Western sanctions against Moscow, which have no effect for the moment on Russian energy exports.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in April ended down 1.16% at 97.93 dollars.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery lost 1.31% to 91.59 dollars.
The barrel of Brent, the European benchmark for black gold, had exceeded 105 dollars in session on Thursday, and the American WTI had briefly crossed the symbolic threshold of 100 dollars.
The invasion of Ukraine launched overnight from Wednesday to Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin has sparked a wave of condemnation, mainly from Westerners, who have announced new sanctions, but which “so far do not affect the energy deliveries,” commented Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank.
Same story at Mizuho USA: “the Biden administration said it would not sanction energy assets” from Moscow, “that’s the big story of the day”, summed up Robert Yawger.
“The sanctions will not target oil flows,” acknowledged Amos Hochstein, energy adviser at the State Department in an interview with Bloomberg Television, conceding fears of a sharp rise in oil prices if necessary.
The lack of sanctions on the oil sector “put pressure on prices, but boosted the stock market on Wall Street”, which ended up. “In a sense, that eliminates an inflation factor,” which made the stock market happy, added Mr. Yawger.
London and the European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, without however going so far as to exclude the country from the Swift international banking system.
Washington should follow: “the United States will join its European allies in sanctioning them,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Friday. She also indicated that Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov would be banned from entering American territory.
Investors are now wondering how Moscow will react to the sanctions. If Russia chooses to reduce its crude deliveries, in a market where supply is already tight, prices could rise again.
“In times of extreme oil price volatility, it is up to OPEC to restore calm,” said Stephen Brennock of PVM Energy.
However, the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) no longer seems capable of “preventing brutal price fluctuations”, continues the analyst, the cartel failing each month to meet its supply objectives.
The organization, which is to meet on Wednesday, should continue to “play a supporting role” in the black gold market, said Mr. Brennock.
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