New York, (EFE) – The price of Petroleum Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 7.1% this Monday and stood at 112.12 dollars a barrel due to the prospect that the European Union (EU) vetoes Russian crude in a new retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.
According to data at the end of operations on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI futures contracts for delivery in April added 7.42 dollars compared to the previous close.
Benchmark US crude started the day with a strong rise and ended at its highest price in a couple of weeks, also influenced by the expiration of contracts for April, which will take place at the close of tomorrow’s session.
According to analysts, the main factor of movement was the possibility that the European Union sanctions Russian oil exports as a new measure of pressure and punishment on Russia, something that its ministers were discussing today at a summit in Brussels.
“Optimism is fading about progress in Ukraine ceasefire talks and that has pushed up the price of oil,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter was quoted as saying by CNBC.
The market has also reacted to the attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Saudi Arabian power terminal this weekend, with Riyadh warning on Monday that a possible shortage of supplies could take place.
This situation occurs amid international calls for Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members to increase their production to curb the rise in prices, given that they have stuck to their plan agreed last summer to gradually open the taps each month. .
Meanwhile, natural gas contracts for April delivery rose 4 cents to $4.9 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline contracts due the same month added more than 13 cents to $3.37 a gallon. .
