Brent Jumps as EU Bans Most Russian Oil Imports

Brent Crude: for July rose above $122 per barrel on Tuesday, hitting its highest since March 9, after EU leaders reached an agreement to ban 90% of Russian crude by the end of 2022, fueling concerns of an even tighter global market.

The agreement resolves a deadlock with Hungary over the bloc’s toughest sanction yet on Moscow and would clear the way for other elements of a sixth package, including cutting Russia’s biggest bank from the SWIFT messaging system.

However, some analysts suggested that oil price gains may be muted as the move has already been priced in by the markets. Meanwhile, demand from China is expected to pick up after the cities of Beijing and Shanghai eased Covid restrictions, with some reservations about the effect of skyrocketing petrol prices on global consumption.

On the production side, OPEC+ is set to stick to its policy of modest output increases at its meeting on Thursday, rejecting western calls for faster production to lower prices