Brent ended up 0.69% at $110.90 and WTI ended up 0.41% at $108.26.
Oil prices ended up slightly after a jagged session on Thursday, torn between the proposed European embargo on Russian oil, the only marginal opening of the OPEC+ floodgates, the fall of Wall Street and the rise of the dollar.
The barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in July ended up 0.69% at 110.90 dollars.
A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery climbed 0.41% to 108.26 dollars.
Prices oscillated in an amplitude of more than four dollars a barrel throughout the day.
The upward trend was first driven by the European Commission’s proposal on Wednesday to adopt a gradual EU embargo on Russian oil and petroleum products.
This would be the next step in the economic sanctions that European nations are imposing on Russia because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
What still constitutes “a decent upward pressure” on the prices of black gold, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst of the bank Swissquote. “Indeed, greater demand for non-Russian oil is likely to push prices higher in general,” says Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank.
Another factor also slightly on the rise: OPEC and their OPEC + partners agreed on Thursday, as expected, to continue their marginal increase in their production of black gold, comforted by the risks weighing on demand.
The alliance has decided to “adjust the total monthly production of 432,000 barrels per day upwards for the month of June”, according to its press release.
The group “remains allied with Russia and plays against the determination of the United States to increase oil production, and the OPEC countries are not willing to replace Russian oil”, explained Ipek Ozkardeskaya.
“Obviously the market was torn between the fact that, on the one hand, OPEC does not change its rate of increase in production, and on the other hand, Germany has said that it is in solidarity with its European partners. on energy and finally that the stock market weighed on prices,” said Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group.
Oil prices, which were up sharply in the middle of the session, lost three-quarters of the ground gained when Wall Street took a violent nose dive.
The New York indices had their worst session of the year the day after a rate hike by the Fed while the dollar jumped, which is generally unfavorable to the price of crude.
“Most people are beginning to believe that the only way to slow this inflation is to slow economic growth,” Flynn said.
For James Williams, of WTRG Economics, “the factor that lowers prices comes mainly from China and its policy which overreacts to Covid-19”.
Confinements of buildings, massive screenings, Beijing, a city of 22 million inhabitants, lives to the rhythm of the “zero Covid” strategy, raising fears of an economic slowdown and a lower demand for energy.