Around 11:30 a.m., Brent rose 4.64% to $102.57. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 4.39% to 99.21 dollars.
The price of a barrel of Brent, the benchmark for black gold in Europe, jumped around 5% on Thursday, pushed by the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin having refused to suspend its offensive and the IEA fearing a shock on the supply petroleum.
Around 10:30 a.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. CET), a barrel of Brent North Sea oil for May delivery climbed 4.64% to $102.57.
A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery gained 4.39% to 99.21 dollars.
The Kremlin on Thursday rejected the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the UN, which the day before ordered Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine.
Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of bombing a theater in which “more than a thousand” civilians had taken refuge.
“The world must finally admit that Russia has become a terrorist state,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday evening.
The offensive and the determination of the two camps did not prevent the continuation of parallel talks, relaunched Monday by videoconference.
“While the fact that the two sides are talking is a good thing, one cannot help but think that, for Russia, it is a question of pretending”, warns Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets “while Ukraine will insist on concrete security guarantees that Russia may find difficult to accept”.
Black gold prices were also boosted by the monthly report of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which fears a “shock” on world oil supply, following the sanctions once morest Russia taken following his invasion of Ukraine.
This “harsh assessment” by the IEA “has raised new concerns regarding supply, which has added upward pressure on prices today”, continues Victoria Scholar, analyst at Interactive investor.
The IEA predicts an oil market “significantly more tense than before”, confirms Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.
The war in Ukraine has already created high volatility in oil markets, and Russia is the world’s second largest exporter of crude.
“The IEA has also revised downwards its oil demand forecasts for the second quarter”, tempers Carsten Fritsch, “but the downward adjustment is not as pronounced as that of supply”.
