LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose in volatile trading on Wednesday due to disruptions in crude exports from Russia and Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea pipeline. Brent crude futures rose $5 to $120.50 a barrel.
Earlier in the session, Brent rose $3.13, or 2.7 percent, to $118.61 a barrel by 11:00 GMT. The price had fallen earlier to 114.45 dollars a barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by $2.69, or 2.5 percent, to $111.96 a barrel, and had fallen earlier to $108.38 a barrel. Markets remained concerned about the possibility of additional sanctions against Russia, the second largest oil exporter in the world, after its military attack on Ukraine, which it describes as a “special operation”. US President Joe Biden is scheduled to announce more sanctions on Russia when he meets with European leaders on Thursday in Brussels and attends emergency NATO meetings. European Union countries remain divided over the ban on imports of Russian crude oil and products that continue to flow into them, but that could change when the short-term contracts expire. On Tuesday, Russia warned of a drop in oil exports through the Caspian Sea pipeline consortium by up to one million barrels per day, or one percent of global oil production, due to damage from a storm. Exports through the pipeline were completely halted on Wednesday, and the Seven News Agency said repairs would take at least a month and a half.
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