WATCH THE VIDEO HERE Oil prices settled lower on Friday, as the latest US sanctions on Russian energy trade heightened worries about oil supply disruptions, with Brent crude futures dipping 50 cents or 0.6 per cent to trade at $80.79 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures losing 80 cents or 1 per cent to finish at $77.88 a barrel. The outgoing Biden administration unveiled broader sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers last week. Investors are also assessing the potential implications of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Monday, January 20. Mr Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary said he was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russian oil. Meanwhile, Russia’s exports of refined oil products by sea declined by 9.1% in 2024 from a year earlier, due to low processing rates, drone attacks knocking out refineries, and export bans. Russia shipped a total of 113.7 million metric tons of refined petroleum products last year, while its domestic refining slumped to a multi-year low level of 267 million tons in 2024, the lowest since 2012. The refining rates fell amid weak margins, unplanned refinery outages, and the export bans that Russia introduced for several periods in 2024. There were also expectations of a halt in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia on ships in the Red Sea following a Gaza ceasefire deal. The Houthis’ attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing ships to make longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa for more than a year. The Israeli security cabinet approved the ceasefire deal on Friday, paving the way for the return of the first hostages from Gaza as early as Sunday. Data also lent support for prices as inflation eased in the US, the world’s biggest economy, boosting expectations of interest-rate cuts. Lower interest rates make it possible for increased oil demand. Traders are also assessing fresh data from China, the world’s top oil importer to know if its economy fulfilled the government’s ambitions for 5 per cent growth last year. China has been a major impediment to stronger crude prices with its refinery throughput in 2024 falling for the first time in more than two decades barring the pandemic year of 2022, government data showed on Friday. The US oil rig count, an indicator of future output, fell by two to 478 this week, energy services firm Baker Hughes said.
Oil Prices Slide Amid Supply Disruptions
