Oil prices surged this morning as concerns over potential supply disruptions amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine outweighed talk of a co-ordinated global release of crude stocks to calm markets.
May Brent crude futures, which began trading on Tuesday, advanced 1.8% to US$99.7 by 07:34 GMT after briefly touching US$100. The benchmark touched a seven year high of US$105.79 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began last week.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) April crude futures rose 1.6% to US$97.28. That contract touched a high of US$99.10 a barrel the previous day, and had settled up more than 4%.
Concerns over tightening supplies drove prices higher as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday ended with officials heading back to capitals for further consultation, suggesting conflict resolution is not imminent.
Major energy companies, including BP, Shell, Ørsted and Equinor have announced plans to exit Russian operations and joint ventures.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is set to hold an extraordinary ministerial meeting on Tuesday to discuss what role its members can play in stabilising oil markets.
Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a ‘special operation’, exports 4 to 5m barrels per day of crude oil, and 2 to 3m barrels per day of refined products.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, will also meet on Wednesday and are anticipated to maintain a gradual increase to supplies.