Continuation of record oil prices / recording the highest price in the last 14 years

Oil prices have reached their highest level since 2008, with buyers refusing Russian crude following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, IRNA reported on Thursday, quoting Bloomberg News. Meanwhile, OPEC Plus (an oil cartel made up of all OPEC members and non-members, including Russia) is trying to ignore the war waged by one of its main members.

The war in Ukraine has raised concerns about the supply of oil to energy markets as well as grain, and has prompted consumers, including China, to look for raw materials around the world. On the other hand, following the imposition of economic sanctions by the United States and Europe against Russia, buyers refuse Russian crude oil, which has led to higher crude oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate for April delivery rose 3.9 percent to $ 118 a barrel.

Brent crude rose 3.8 percent to $ 117.24 a barrel in May.

The International Energy Agency has warned that global energy security is under threat and that the emergency release of crude oil reserves by the United States and other countries has done little to allay market fears.

The United States and its allies have so far refused to impose sanctions on Russian crude exports because of concerns about their impact on rising energy prices, although trade and banking conditions with Russia are declining due to financial and banking sanctions.

The Biden government announced on Wednesday that it was seeking to downgrade Russia as a leading producer of oil and natural gas by restricting exports of energy-related technology. At the same time, the world’s major oil companies, including British Petroleum, Shell and ExxonMobil, have pledged to leave Russia.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported that US crude inventories fell 2.6 million barrels last week, while inventories at the Cushing Oklahoma storage hub fell for the eighth week in a row.