The United States seeks to coordinate a new collective release of strategic oil reserves, to try to keep energy prices from impacting inflation, while continuing to exempt Russian supplies of crude oil and gas from sanctions, the agency reported. Bloomberg.
US President Joseph Biden also raised the possibility of more barrels of oil being released from strategic reserves in coordination with other nations.
Although futures reduced gains after the sanctions were known, the possibility of much higher prices remains.
Russia produces about 10.5 million barrels of crude per day, or about 11% of the world’s supply, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The price spike spooked an already stressed market as oil supplies around the world fail to keep pace with a vigorous recovery in demand as the coronavirus pandemic recedes.
Meanwhile, the OPEC+ coalition, led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, is struggling to restore production quickly enough. OPEC+ meets on March 2 to decide on April output, and as of Wednesday, delegates from some of the biggest members were saying triple-digit oil wouldn’t make them pump any faster.
Their current strategy is to add 400,000 barrels of crude oil to the market each month, as they have been doing.
Short-term physical crude deliveries are more expensive than later ones as physical traders scramble to secure supplies.
Inventories at the largest US storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell to the lowest level since September 2018 and are at their lowest level in 14 years, according to an EIA report.
The EIA reported that US commercial crude oil inventories (excluding Strategic Petroleum Reserves) increased by 4.5 million barrels from the previous week.
While, natural gas contracts closed with a slight drop of 1.2% and were agreed at 4.57 dollars per million BTU.
Finally, Gold fell after hitting its highest level in 17 months, after investors viewed sanctions on Russia as weaker than expected.. The metal closed at US$1,900 and was down 0.5% from the day before.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
