The price of Brent crude oil is above $108 a barrel. It is thus the most expensive since the end of March, when its price was on a downward trajectory. Markets are nervous and reacting to the upcoming tightening of anti-Russian sanctions by the US and Europe.
Black Gold
Oil gained more than one percent during Tuesday’s trading. Both Brent and WTI crude have risen. Both types of black gold are trading above $100 a barrel, with a difference of just $4 between them.
“As the European Union works on new sanctions that may hit the Russian mining industry, the oil price is rising and could go even higher in the short term,” Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at FXTM, told Reuters.
Energetic plan of the EU
New sanctions have already been announced by US President Joe Biden. The West is reacting to reports that Russian soldiers were involved in a massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kiev. It is widely expected that the European Union will come up with a plan to limit its purchases of energy commodities from Russia, in particular natural gas and oil. Western Europe is much less dependent on Russian oil than on gas. The specific form of the sanctions should be announced this week.
