Oil fell as the European Union held off on banning Russian crude imports, while Kazakhstan said disruption at a key export terminal is set to ease.
Brent futures slid 1.6% after fluctuating earlier Friday. The EU and U.S. announced an agreement to cut reliance on Russian fuel, though several nations remain uncomfortable with any potential oil embargo on a major supplier. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan expects one of the moorings at the CPC terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast to resume work on Friday, allowing oil tankers to be loaded again.
Oil is still up this week and has rallied over the past four months, hitting the highest since 2008 in early March as the war in Ukraine roiled already-tight commodity markets. In response, the U.S. and U.K. moved to bar Russian oil, and many Western energy firms are also choosing to shun the nation’s crude. Buyers in China and India appear to be soaking up some of those barrels.
EU industrial powerhouse Germany has said it plans to quickly wean itself offRussian fossil fuels, though warned an immediate embargo is not possible because of the damage it would cause to Europe’s biggest economy. Austria also said it won’t agree to an embargo of Russian oil and gas.
Crude futures extended Thursday’s decline “as an announcement of an import ban of Russian oil by the EU is not happening in the very short term,” said Helge Andre Martinsen, a senior oil-market analyst at DNB Bank ASA.
The CPC export terminal halted cargo loadings earlier this week after moorings sustained significant damage in bad weather. Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said Friday that one of the moorings will restart operations shortly, while two others are expected to resume in three weeks.
Oil markets remain backwardated, a bullish pattern marked by higher prices for near-term barrels than those further out. Brent’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — was $3.32 a barrel on Friday, up from 41 cents at the start of the year. Bloomberg News