Oil in the spotlight: how Russia’s intercontinental attack changed the energy market
On Friday, November 22, oil prices rose after Russia announced that it had launched a ballistic missile over Ukraine and warned of a possible escalation of the conflict, raising risks to global supplies.
As informs Reuters Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.37 a barrel at 00:07 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 17 cents (0.2%) to $70.27 per barrel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the war in Ukraine is turning into a global confrontation after the United States and Great Britain began supplying weapons capable of hitting targets on Russian territory. He noted that Moscow responded by striking a medium-range hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian military facility and threatened further actions.
Russia, which remains one of the largest oil exporters even with sanctions and restrictions, produced about 9 million barrels per day in November. At the same time, Ukraine continues to attack the Russian oil infrastructure. In June, Ukrainian drones damaged four Russian oil refineries.
The increase in prices was also influenced by data on the increase in oil and gasoline stocks in the USA. Oil inventories rose by 545,000 barrels to 430.3 million barrels, and gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels to 208.9 million barrels in the week to November 15, the government said.
Some experts expect that the build-up in inventories could continue, which is likely to hold back further gains in oil prices.
“We expect an increase in output and activity at US refineries next week, which will have a negative impact on oil and staples”, — Jim Ritterbusch from “Ritterbusch and Associates” commented on the situation.
