NEW YORK, Mar 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Oil prices spiked yesterday, as the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine kindled fears about energy supply disruptions.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for Apr delivery, added 8.01 U.S. dollars, or 7.4 percent, to settle at 115.68 dollars a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest finish since Sept, 2008.
Brent crude for May delivery increased 7.65 dollars, or 6.9 percent, to close at 118.11 dollars a barrel, on the London ICE Futures Exchange, the highest settlement since Feb, 2013.
The oil rally came, as the news regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still dominating the developments on the markets.
As the fighting continues, the West has imposed further sanctions and more and more Western companies are withdrawing from Russia.
Concerns about energy supplies persist and markets remain correspondingly nervous, You-Na Park-Heger, analyst at Commerzbank Research, said yesterday, in a note.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, announced on Wednesday that, it would stick to existing plans for a modest oil output increase of 400,000 barrels per day in Apr, despite supply fears amid the Ukraine crisis.
“OPEC+ has drawn criticism for its decision to entirely disregard the war in Ukraine, during its meeting on Wednesday,” as the production hike it decided “will hardly prove sufficient to reassure the oil market,” said Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research.
For the week, the U.S. crude benchmark spiked 26.3 percent, while Brent soared 25.5 percent, based on the front-month contracts.
