(BFM Bourse) – Oil prices rose by more than 4% this Friday, January 10 as investors fear that Washington will take sanctions against the Russian “ghost fleet” which transports 1.7 million barrels per day.
Oil prices jump on Friday, with the barrel of Brent surpassing $80, driven by possible sanctions that the United States is preparing to take against the Russian “ghost fleet”, which could have an impact on oil exports of the Kremlin.
Around 2:45 p.m. GMT (3:45 p.m. in Paris), the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in March, rose 4.12% to $80.09.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in February, increased by 4.36% to $77.14.
“The United States is expected to announce new sanctions against Russia soon,” DNB analysts say, “including on many oil tankers, which will further disrupt Russian crude exports.”
Search for alternative suppliers
Russia is the world’s second largest producer of crude oil and its “ghost fleet”, made up of around 600 ships, transports nearly 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, London estimated last July.
Similar sanctions were taken in December against Iran by the United States and against Russia by the European Union.
“Some signs show the effectiveness of Western sanctions against the Russian ghost fleet,” says Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank, who highlights a level of Russian crude oil exports at the lowest since August 2023.
“As a result, India has to look for alternative suppliers, mainly in the Middle East, which creates additional demand” and drives up prices, explains Carsten Fritsch.
-The drop in exports of Iranian and Russian crude oil linked to sanctions will also force “China to look for other alternatives”, indicates Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM.
New US sanctions could therefore significantly reduce the availability of Russian oil in the short term.
The market is also supported by very cold weather in the United States, “which should lead to an increase in demand for heating fuels”, reports John Plassard, analyst at Mirabaud.
The market also witnessed this week the “seventh consecutive weekly decline in crude oil stocks in the United States,” adds the analyst, which tends to push up prices on the market.
In recent weeks the prices of black gold have risen sharply, and according to Bjarne Schieldrop of SEB, “the current strength of oil is perhaps not just a flash in the pan and could last.”
(With AFP)
J. M. – ©2025 BFM Bourse
