New York March 9 2022: WTI and Brent crude futures fell almost 7 percent to below $116 per barrel and $120 per barrel in volatile trade on Wednesday after rising more than 2% earlier in the session as investors try to assess the impact of recent sanctions in the oil market.
Barkindo in an interview to Bloomberg stressed that “OPEC was focused on supply-demand fundamentals, and currently there was no physical shortage of oil.”
US oil prices surged about 30% since Russia invaded Ukraine and hit their highest since 2008 at above $130 this week amid fears of further supply disruptions and escalating sanctions, exacerbated by uncertainties about the possible return of Iranian crude to global markets.
The US imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports and Britain said it would phase out Russian oil imports through the end of 2022. Moreover, private oil companies including BP and Shell said they were stepping back further from doing business with Russia, with Shell immediately halting all purchases of Russian crude and shutting its service stations in the country.
