(New York) Oil prices fell on Tuesday, with the prospect, still distant, of a possible resumption of Venezuelan exports and the hypothesis of a European tax on Russian oil rather than an embargo.
Posted at 3:58 p.m.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in July fell 2.02%, to close at 111.93 dollars.
As for the American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with delivery in June, it lost 1.57%, to end at 112.40 dollars.
A rare phenomenon, WTI finished above Brent. The gap reached its highest level in six years.
“You have to keep in mind that Brent is for July while WTI is for June,” commented Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, with earlier-delivered oil enjoying a premium in such a tight market.
“However,” he added, “what it says is that refiners everywhere are looking for an alternative to Russian oil. As a result, we see an increase in demand for American production. »
Boosted on Monday by the gradual lifting of containment in Shanghai as well as the upcoming accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, black gold rather suffered headwinds on Tuesday.
The United States announced a modest easing of the sanctions imposed on Venezuela, which mainly concerns a “limited waiver” granted to the American oil group Chevron.
The Californian company will be able to resume discussions with a view to “potential future activities in Venezuela”, indicated a senior American official.
Chevron is the only American oil company to still have assets in Venezuela, in the form of joint ventures with the national company PDVSA.
If they authorized the resumption of dialogue, the American authorities however warned that no production agreement could be concluded until further notice.
“The road to successful negotiations with Venezuela is still under construction,” said Andy Lipow. “If this materializes, we could see several hundred thousand barrels hitting the market immediately. »
Washington has imposed an oil embargo on Venezuela since 2019 in the hope of pushing President Nicolas Maduro to leave.
For Edward Moya, from Oanda, the prices were also put under pressure by information from the Reuters agency according to which the United States was preparing to propose to the European Union to apply an exceptional tax on imports of Russian oil, rather than an embargo.
“This would allow the market to remain supplied”, anticipated Edward Moya, “which would limit the rise in crude. The EU is struggling to agree on an embargo, mainly because of Hungary’s reservations.
In the United States, the days follow one another and look alike, with a new record for the price of gasoline on Tuesday, at 4,523 dollars per gallon (3.78 liters).
With U.S. reserves low, unless refiners shift more of their business to gasoline and limit exports, “U.S. consumers shouldn’t expect lower prices at the pump. by the end of the year,” according to JPMorgan analysts.