Two sources in OPEC + said today, Monday, that the policies of the alliance have nothing to do with it Rising oil pricesand played down any possibility of increasing the supply of the group, which includes Russia and Saudi Arabia.
“The problem is that the current market conditions have nothing to do with OPEC’s policy. They have nothing to do with a lack of supply (production),” one of the sources said.
He added, “We all know the reasons for the current price. It has nothing to do with OPEC or OPEC + with the reasons that push prices to the current levels.”
Oil prices in Asia jumped at the opening by about 18%, before returning and paring these gains after reports that the United States was discussing imposing a ban on Russian crude imports, causing shock waves in the already reeling market.
Brent quickly pared about half of those gains to trade near $130 a barrel, at a 13-year high, a level that continues to exacerbate fears of a major inflationary shock to the global economy. The Biden administration is considering whether to ban imports of Russian oil into the United States without the participation of allies in Europe, at least initially, according to two people familiar with the matter.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Biden administration and its allies were discussing an embargo on Russian oil, as pressure mounted to respond more forcefully to the invasion of Ukraine by squeezing exports from Russia’s main energy industry.
The United States has so far resisted pressure to impose restrictions on Russian crude imports due to concerns about the impact of higher prices on consumers.
Oil prices rose as the Russian embargo could fuel supply shortage fears.