Brent oil futures rose 13 cents, or 0.1%, to $100.71 a barrel 0139 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures advanced 35 cents, or 0.4%, $96.38 a barrel.
Analysts said the emergency release of oil, amounting to around 1 million barrels a day from May to the end of the year, could limit the rise in prices in the short term, but would not fully cover the volumes lost by Russia over sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”.
“While this is the largest release since the stockpile was created in 1980, it will ultimately fail to change oil market fundamentals. It is likely to delay further production increases from major producers. “, said analysts at ANZ Research in a statement.
The statement could deter producers, including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and US shale producers, from accelerating production increases, even with oil prices around $100 a barrel, they said. addition.
At the same time, the fact that the European Union plans to ban Russian oil, after its plan to embargo Russian coal, will limit any drop in oil prices in the short term.
“In the court of public opinion, the pressure is mounting on Brussels to act, and if that pressure valve pops and the EU sanctions Russian oil, we could see Brent $120 in the blink of an eye. it,” Stephen Innes, managing director of SPI Asset Management, said in a note.