Oil rises as much as 2% on concern about Russian crude supply

Oil rose 2% on Friday on expectations of a fall in the supply of Russian crude, which helped offset fears of a hit to growth in demand for transportation fuel in the United States as an arctic storm threatened travel in the Christmas holiday season.

At 10:44 GMT, crude Brent was up $1.40, or 1.70%, at $82.38 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate in the United States (WTI) it earned $1.49, or 2%, to $78.98. Both contracts were on pace to post their second straight weekly gain.

Russian Baltic oil exports could fall 20% in December from the previous month after the European Union and G7 countries imposed sanctions and a price cap on Russian crude from December 5, according to traders and calculations. from Reuters.

Russia could cut its oil production by 5-7% in early 2023 in response to price caps, the RIA news agency quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Friday.

“Crude prices are rising because energy traders are focused on Moscow’s response to the Russian oil price cap and not so much on the thousands of flight cancellations that will disrupt holiday travel,” said Edward Moya, an analyst at OANDA.

More than 4,400 US flights have been canceled in a two-day period due to the winter storm, coinciding with a holiday travel season that some predict could be the busiest on record.

On Thursday, oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell due to flight cancellations. The blizzard could also derail motorists’ plans to travel during Christmas y New Yearslowing down the consumption of gasoline.

However, demand for heating oil could be boosted as extreme weather is expected to cause power outages.