Kiev, April 29 – The price of oil went up even as major energy producer Russia remains the topic of discussion by investors, who are assessing the impact of new sanctions by the United States and its European allies on more than two dozen government officials, executives and companies in the country in the wake of Ukraine crisis.
The sanctions, however, were not as harsh as feared, with no public companies or major sectors of the economies affected. On Tuesday, the price of oil crept higher as investors weighed sanctions by the US and allies against Russia over Ukraine.
Benchmark US crude for June delivery rose 18 cents to $101.02 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 24 cents to settle at $100.84 on Monday.
Brent crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used by many US refineries, rose 37 cents to $108.37 in London. It was rebounding after tumbling $1.46, or 1.3 per cent, the day before on expectations of higher exports from Libya.
Energy trading in Asia was subdued as markets in Japan were closed for a holiday and ahead of another holiday on Thursday in many other countries across the region.
“While the crisis has had limited impact on energy flows so far, the tensions may presage a period of volatile geopolitics in the former Soviet Union,” AP quoted an analysts at Barclay’s wrote in a report.
In other energy futures trading:
– Wholesale gasoline rose 0.3 cents to $2.9898 a gallon.
– Heating oil fell 0.4 cents to $2.949 a gallon.
– Natural gas fell 0.3 cents to $4.77 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Ukraine to get one bn euro loan from EU
Meanwhile, a report from Brussels said the European Commission agreed on Monday to supply a new tranch of 1-billion-euro (about $1.38 billion) loan to Ukraine, to help the country reduce short-term balance of payments and fiscal vulnerabilities.
-INDIA TODAY
