(Hong Kong) The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude jumped more than 5% in morning trading on Monday as markets grew increasingly concerned about an energy crisis after new Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
Posted at 10:41 p.m.
The contract price for April delivery rose 5.07% to $96.23, while Brent rose 4.30% to $102.14.
The United States and the European Union have said they will exclude certain Russian banks from the Swift international banking payment system and have personally targeted Mr Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The EU also banned all transactions with Russia’s central bank, sending the rouble plummeting, which Bloomberg reported was down almost 30% in international trade on Monday.
“The withdrawal of some Russian banks from Swift could lead to oil supply disruption as buyers and sellers try to figure out how to navigate the new rules,” Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates noted at Houston.
Operators will closely follow a Wednesday meeting of OPEC+, which brings together the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and their ten partners led by Russia, meeting during which they will discuss plans for additional production.
The group has already agreed to gradually increase production each month, but the Ukrainian crisis could upset those plans.