Crude oil steadied ahead of OPEC+ meeting after surging moderately on European Union’s plan for a stricter ban on Russian crude.
The WTI is trading around $108 a barrel while Brent is trading around $110 a barrel.
The EU plans to ban Russian oil over the next six months and refined fuels by the end of the year, to increase pressure on Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
The bloc is also targeting insurers in a move that could dramatically impair Moscow’s ability to ship oil around the world.
OPEC+ is expected to make another small production increase weighing on threat demand from China.
“Gains are well below what I would consider worthy of such a huge hit to supply,” said Daniel Hynes, senior commodities strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. as repeated by Bloomberg.
“The sanctions are likely to reduce supply for the foreseeable future, while we still expect China to control the current Covid-19 outbreak and ease restrictions. This will lead to an extremely tight market.”
