(New York) Oil prices recorded a second session of significant increases on Tuesday, encouraged by the suspension of part of Russian gasoline exports which further strengthened the prices of refined products.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in April, appreciated by 1.35%, ending at $83.65.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) of the same maturity rose 1.66% to $78.87.
Russia decided on Tuesday to partially suspend its gasoline exports from 1er March, a measure intended to “stabilize prices on the domestic market”, according to Russian news media RBC.
The ruling will not apply to member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, nor to Uzbekistan and Mongolia, two major consumers of Russian petroleum products.
For John Kilduff, analyst at Again Capital, this decision “is proof” that Russian infrastructure has indeed been affected by the recent Ukrainian strikes on several sites in the west of the country.
Even if several analysts expect that the impact of this partial suspension will be limited in terms of volumes, operators have clung to this announcement to take prices higher, according to John Kilduff.
The Eurobob European gasoline futures contract, one of the market benchmarks, approached its highest level in five months on Tuesday.
Also in the United States, the wholesale price of gasoline is firm and has increased by 2.7% in two days.
The Russian interruption comes at a time when the market is already tense due to the low activity of American refineries, in the middle of the maintenance season.
According to the Kpler firm, cited in a Commerzbank note, American diesel exports were halved in February compared to January, mainly due to the slowdown in refinery activity.
“This creates tensions on the European diesel market, which was already suffering from disruptions linked to problems in the Red Sea”, avoided by many tankers who now bypass Africa from the west, noted Barbara Lambrecht, analyst at Commerzbank.
Diesel stocks in the Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam region are 15% lower than last year at the same time, according to Commerzbank.
Prices were also supported on Tuesday by information from the Reuters agency according to which the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the OPEC+ group will study the possibility of extending their production cuts in second trimester.