Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Brent Oil Rallies Above $110 as IEA Warns on Energy Security

Storage tanks at the Torrance Refining Co. in Torrance, California, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. The U.S. and its allies are discussing a coordinated release of about 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency stockpiles after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed crude prices above $100. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg

Brent oil extended its relentless rally above $110 a barrel before an OPEC+ meeting as the International Energy Agency warned that global energy security is under threat following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Futures in London and New York both soared more than 5%. The situation in energy markets is very serious, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said Tuesday after the U.S. and other major economies agreed to a release of oil reserves. Investors will be watching for a response from OPEC+ when the cartel meets Wednesday to discuss April supply, but only a modest increase is expected despite the turmoil rippling through the sector.

The global oil market had already tightened significantly prior to the invasion after economies rebounded strongly from the pandemic, and the disruption to Russian exports has the potential to drive crude prices even higher. Traders are paying the most in more than two years betting that will happen, while banks including Morgan Stanley have boosted near-term forecasts.

Oil prices surge as Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompts supply fears

Governments worldwide are facing rising inflationary pressure as the fallout from Russian sanctions drives energy, metals and grains prices higher. That’s prompted the U.S. and its allies to release 60 million barrels of strategic oil reserves to tame prices, though similar action late last year had little impact.

Russia’s flagship Urals crude oil was offered for sale at a record discount but got no bidders, highlighting the caution from buyers as they navigate mounting financial sanctions. While the U.S. and its allies have so far stopped short of imposing penalties directly on Russian commodities, trade is halting as banks pull financing and shipping costs surge.

“I can only see oil heading higher,” said Daniel Hynes, senior commodities strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “The market is waking up to the reality that we are already experiencing constraints on Russia oil without any formal sanctions. It’s hard to see what OPEC can do.”

Prices
  • Brent for May settlement gained 5.7% to $110.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10:41 a.m. Singapore time.
  • West Texas Intermediate for April delivery rose 5.6% to $109.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining 13% over the past two days.

Brent remains in deep backwardation, a bullish structure where prompt barrels are more expensive than later-dated cargoes, indicating nervousness over tightening supply. The benchmark’s prompt spread was $5.14 a barrel, compared with $1.39 at the start of last month.

 

Russia’s invasion is entering a deadly new phase, which could result in more sanctions. President Joe Biden is facing pressure from lawmakers in both parties to cut off U.S. imports of Russian oil and gas to escalate the cost to Russia, which would likely provide another boost to global prices.

The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reverberated far and wide. Oil majors such as BP Plc and Shell Plc are exiting Russia, while banks across the globe including in Singapore are restricting trade financing for raw materials. Even the residents of a tiny archipelago off Scotland are doing everything they can to stop a Russian oil tanker from docking.

Separately, the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude inventories fell by 6.1 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data. Stockpiles at the key storage hub in Cushing also declined, the API said. Energy Information Administration figures are due later Wednesday.

Gallery

Comments - Please in order to comment.

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.