Brent edges up as geopolitical tensions resurface
The front-month ICE Brent contract has moved $0.31/bbl higher on the day, to trade at $66.19/bbl at 09.00 GMT.
IMAGE: Oil storage tanks. Getty Images
Upward pressure:
Brent crude’s price has gained after Ukrainian drones hit a Russian oil refinery located in Volgograd.
The falling drone debris caused an oil spill at the refinery, which subsequently caught fire, Volgograd region’s governor Andrey Bocharov said.
The oil refinery is owned by Russia’s biggest energy firm Lukoil, according to a Bloomberg report. It has a refining capacity of 300,000 b/d, said VANDA Insights’ founder Vandana Hari.
“Crude oil prices edged higher, recouping some of the losses recorded earlier this week as traders take stock of the geopolitical landscape,” remarked ANZ Bank’s senior commodity analyst Daniel Hynes.
Downward pressure:
Brent’s price has felt some downward pressure amid uncertainty ahead of today’s highly anticipated meeting between US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
If successful, the meeting could secure a US-brokered ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv – a goal the US President has pursued since the start of his second term – and potentially lead to the lifting of global sanctions on Russian energy.
“Hopes are high that Friday’s meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump might remove much of the sanction risk hanging over the market,” two analysts from ING Bank said.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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