Brent crude oil cost soared above $110 (Rs 8,318) per barrel on Wednesday amid fear of supply chain disruption from Russia, the third-largest producer of oil, due to the country’s ongoing offensive against Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Brent is a global price benchmark for crude oils from the Atlantic basin. It is used to set the price of two-thirds of the world’s trade of crude oil supply.
The United States West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, jumped $5 (Rs 378.23), or 5.06%, to $108.64 (Rs 8,218.13) a barrel.
Prices of both oil benchmarks are at a seven-year high, Agence France-Presse reported.
Russia began an attack on Ukraine on February 24, and claimed that it did so to protect residents of separatist-controlled regions in the country. Moscow is pressing on with its invasion despite the mounting casualties and Western sanctions that have sent the rouble plummeting.
However, going by the current circumstances, market experts fear that oil prices may continue to rise in the coming days.
“I can only see oil heading higher,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodities strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd said, according to Bloomberg. “The market is waking up to the reality that we are already experiencing constraints on Russian oil without any formal sanctions. It’s hard to see what OPEC can do.”
Against the backdrop of the rising prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries along with its allies including Russia, are expected to meet later today, according to Reuters. The meeting is convened to discuss the oil supply for the month of April.
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