Oil prices jumped to their highest level in three months on Friday, as traders digested New comprehensive sanctions Against Russia as the Biden administration attempts to cut off Moscow from crude oil revenues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude oil rose more than 3.5% to settle at $76.57 a barrel, while Brent crude futures (BZ=F), the international benchmark, briefly hit $80 before settling at $79.76, a high. Since October.
The sanctions included more than 180 ships, two oil companies, traders, insurance companies and senior Russian executives.
“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia’s primary source of revenue to fund its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. He said In a statement.
Oil prices have already been on an upward trend since late December, with traders uncertain about President-elect Donald Trump’s policy toward Iran. Tehran currently produces more than three million barrels of crude per day.
“News is still filtering out that the Trump administration’s tough stance on Iran could come too quickly,” Dennis Kessler, a senior vice president at BOK Financial, wrote in a note to clients on Friday.
“Add to that the freezing temperatures in most parts of the United States, coupled with shrinking storage numbers, and crude oil is now a new ‘favorite’ for the fund,” he added.
JPMorgan analysts said global oil demand is expected to remain strong through January due to colder-than-expected weather in the Northern Hemisphere, “boosting heating fuel consumption” and early travel activity in China for the country’s Lunar New Year holiday.
Despite Friday’s sharp rise, many analysts expect oil prices to move lower this year than in 2024.
“Despite ongoing geopolitical conflicts, a combination of bearish factors is likely to keep oil prices structurally low in 2025, with a likely price range of $60-80 per barrel for Brent spot crude. This would be lower than the $70-90 range For the barrel that dominates 2024,” the Eurasia Group wrote in a note on Thursday.
Ince Ferry is Yahoo Finance’s chief business correspondent. Follow her on X in @ines_ferre.
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