Oil falls 2% from nearly three-week high; focus on tariffs, Russian supply

Written by Stephanie Kelly

New York (Reuters) -Oil prices decreased by 2 % on Tuesday, erasing gains from the previous session, where investors saw developments on American definitions, the war in Ukraine and the potential turmoil of Russian fuel supplies.

Brent crude decreased $ 1.58, or 2.3 %, at 67.22 dollars a barrel, a day after reaching its highest price since early August. West Texas Lost (WTI) lost $ 1.55, or about 2.4 %, to $ 63.25.

“Given the extent of the great uncertainty in the oil market caused by the Ukrainian conflict and the war of customs tariffs, investors will remain unwilling to adhere to any of the two directions on a long basis,” said Tamas Fraga, an analyst for the electrocardiograms.

He added that Brent prices may be binding in a trading range between 65 and 74 dollars for the foreseeable future.

On Monday, the oil gathering was driven primarily with the risks of supply after Ukraine strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and more US sanctions on Russian oil.

Ukraine’s attacks in response to Russian progress in the conflict and bombing them from Ukrainian gas and energy facilities disrupted the treatment and export of oil in Moscow and created gasoline deficiency in some parts of Russia.

Three people familiar with this issue said that Russia has reviewed the crude oil export plan from Western ports by 200,000 barrels per day in August of the initial schedule after Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted refinery operations and liberated more crude for shipping.

US president Donald Trump has renewed his threat to impose sanctions on Russia if there is no progress towards a peace agreement in the next two weeks.

However, Reuters sources have told that US and Russian government officials discussed many energy deals on the sidelines of this month’s negotiations to search for peace in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Indian exports may face US duties of up to 50 % – among the highest rates imposed by Washington.

“The introduction and the medium in this week’s trade is the possibility that the customs tariff in India will double to 50 % early tomorrow … further restricting Russian export flows that have already prevented the recent Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries,” said analysts at a Ritterbusch and Associats consulting company in a note.

(She participated in the reports of Stephanie Kelly in New York, Sehhar Darren in London, Anjana Anil in Bangaluru and Emily Zhao in Singapore by David Gregorio, Paul Simao and Nia Williams)