Brent Crude Oil Gains as EU Considers Imposing Additional Sanctions on Russia

In the early hours of Tuesday, the European Union announced it was considering imposing additional sanctions on Russia following a series of reports on acts Russian soldiers committed against civilians in Ukraine.

This,  Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission described as atrocities. He said, “These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered.”

The brent crude oil, the international benchmark for Nigerian oil, rose to $108.40 per barrel at 10:50 am Nigerian time on Wednesday.

Explaining the modalities of the sanctions, Ursula von der Leven said the new sanctions would restrict coal imports from Russia and estimated $4.4 billion of coal a year. He, however, stated that the European Commission plans to allow a three-month wind-down period before banning new coal contracts.

The fear of new sanctions on Russia outweighs concerns over demand due to the lockdown in Shangai and rising U.S crude stockpiles.

While visiting the scene, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had described the killing of civilians in northern Ukraine as “war crimes”. The president showed gory pictures of the people killed.

The United States and allies in Europe are now expected to enforce the new coal sanctions on Wednesday. This, explains why coal stocks closed positive on Tuesday.

“With allegations ramping up and new Western sanctions against Russia in the pipeline, further Russian economic retaliation looks inevitable,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown

“These concerns have no doubt fed into the oil price trending higher, with volatility expected to continue as the geopolitical situation unfolds.”