{"id":544545,"date":"2022-03-09T03:32:54","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T03:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/03\/09\/oil-prices-rise-again-on-us-russia-energy-ban-moscow-to-retaliate-with-export-restrictions\/"},"modified":"2022-03-09T03:32:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T03:32:54","slug":"oil-prices-rise-again-on-us-russia-energy-ban-moscow-to-retaliate-with-export-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/03\/09\/oil-prices-rise-again-on-us-russia-energy-ban-moscow-to-retaliate-with-export-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil prices rise again on US\u2019 Russia energy ban; Moscow to retaliate with export restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Oil reaches new heights after US + UK announce Russian oil ban: <\/strong>Global oil prices closed at their highest levels since 2008 yesterday after the US and UK announced they would ban the import of Russian fossil fuels, marking a significant escalation of the economic warfare being waged against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. As part of its sweeping sanctions package, US President Joe Biden announced<\/a> that his country will aim for \"the main artery of Russia's economy\" by banning all energy imports from Russia, which supplies 17% of the world\u2019s gas and 12% of its oil.<\/p>\n

The UK isn\u2019t going all-in right away<\/strong> and instead will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2022, it announced<\/a> yesterday. Russia, the world\u2019s second-largest crude exporter, currently provides around 8% of the country\u2019s total oil consumption. The government is also looking into reducing imports of natural gas, which only makes up 4% of its supply.<\/p>\n

The market response: Brent rose as much as 7% to USD 133.00<\/strong> before falling back to close at USD 129.20, up 5%. US crude ended the session up 4.9% to USD 123.70, having eclipsed USD 129.00 earlier in the session.<\/p>\n

The US is trying to limit the fallout on its economy by <\/strong>unlocking 30 mn barrels of crude<\/a><\/strong> from its reserves<\/strong>, part of a coordinated effort with other countries to shore up global supply that will see the release of 60 mn barrels.<\/p>\n

How much higher can it go before demand destruction kicks in?<\/strong> Goldman Sachs raised its 2022 spot price forecast<\/a> yesterday to USD 135 \u2014 and said that the world is facing one of the \u201clargest energy supply shocks ever<\/strong>.\u201d Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy believes it could reach an unprecedented USD 200<\/a> in the worst case scenario that Europe joins the embargo.<\/p>\n

The move is unlikely to strike a critical blow to Russia\u2019s energy sector:<\/strong> The country provides only around 8% of the US and the UK\u2019s oil and will likely find willing buyers in Asia. The oil embargo would be most damaging if it included Europe, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy imports.<\/p>\n

The response: Russia will move to ban exports of certain raw materials<\/strong> until the end of the year, according to a decree<\/a> signed yesterday by President Vladimir Putin introducing \u201cspecial economic measures\u201d to \u201censure Russia\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n

The details remain sketchy:<\/strong> The Kremlin has not announced which raw materials it will block and said only that the government will decide in the next two days which countries will face restrictions. As well as being one of the world\u2019s largest energy producers, Russia is also a major exporter of nickel, palladium and uranium.<\/p>\n

In other commodities news:<\/strong> Trading didn\u2019t quite match the frenzy of Monday\u2019s session<\/a> though it was hardly a normal day at the office either:<\/p>\n