Oil prices crept higher on Wednesday as the market focused on potential supply disruptions from sanctions on Russian tankers, though gains were tempered by a lack of clarity on their impact.
Brent crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.36%, to $80.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 33 cents, or 0.43%, at $77.83.
The latest round of U.S. sanctions on Russian oil could disrupt Russian oil supply and distribution significantly, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday, adding that “the full impact on the oil market and on access to Russian supply is uncertain”.
A fresh round of sanctions angst seems to be supporting prices, along with the prospect of a weekly U.S. stockpile draw, according to at least one expert.
The market also found some support from a drop in U.S. crude oil stocks last week, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures on Tuesday.
Crude stocks fell by 2.6 million barrels last week while gasoline inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels and distillates climbed by 4.88 million barrels, API sources said.
A Reuters poll found that analysts expected U.S. crude oil stockpiles to have fallen by about one million barrels in the week to Jan. 10.
On Tuesday the EIA trimmed its outlook for global demand in 2025 to 104.1 million barrels per day (bpd) while expecting supply of oil and liquid fuel to average 104.4 million bpd.
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