Oil Climbs as EU Tightens Russian Sanctions With Lower Price Cap
Global benchmark Brent topped $70 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was above $68. EU member states agreed to the bloc's 18th package of sanctions on Moscow over its war against Ukraine, including the lower cap, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said in a social-media post. The limit will be set at $15 a barrel below market rates.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has agreed to repeated waves of sanctions including the cap, which is intended to reduce Moscow's revenues from energy sales, while also seeking to keep those flows going into the global market to avoid a price spike. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump's also threated to impose tighter financial penalties on Russian energy, including nations taking its oil such as India and China.
Oil is higher so far this month, following gains in May and June. Both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have made the case in recent days that while global crude stockpiles have been expanding, the substantial builds have occurred in regions that don't hold much sway in price-setting. The diesel market has also been tight, especially in Europe and the US.
'The logic of diesel tightness propping up crude flat prices remains unchanged,' said Huang Wanzhe, an analyst at Dadi Futures Co., who added that the peak-demand season had seen a solid start. 'The key question is how long this strength can last,' she said.
In wider markets, strong US data eased concerns about the world's largest economy, helping to underpin a risk-on mood and global equity rally. Asian stocks advanced.
Crude futures, as well as those for gasoil, remain in backwardation in the nearer months of their curves, which means traders are having to pay more to secure prompt supplies. That pattern points to tight conditions even as producers' cartel OPEC has been relaxing output curbs at a rapid clip.
To get Bloomberg's Energy Daily newsletter in your inbox, click here.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
No Entry For GM Crops, Says New Delhi; India-US Trade Talks Hit A Sacred Wall
New Delhi: Genetically modified (GM) crops will not be crossing India's borders anytime soon, no matter how urgently the United States knocks. As trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington enter a crucial phase, insiders say one red line is not up for discussion. 'There are things that are not about negotiation. Some things are a matter of principle,' said a senior official close to the development. That principle, sources say, is GM corn and soy. While American negotiators have made agricultural access a central demand, pressing India for a wider entry gate for U.S. farm goods, New Delhi is not blinking, especially on GM imports. Over the years, the issue has mutated from a mere trade disagreement into a symbolic fight over sovereignty, food safety and grassroots politics. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has repeatedly flagged India's restrictions on GM products, calling them 'non-tariff barriers'. But Indian authorities remain unmoved, largely because of the hardline stance taken by domestic groups closely aligned with the ruling establishment. Last month, the message from Sangh affiliates was if America insists on forcing GM crops into the Indian market, there may be no trade deal at all. Carried in Business Standard, that warning echoed the sentiments of influential groups such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which have long opposed agricultural concessions to Washington, particularly in sectors like dairy and GM crops. Their argument? Food security. The BKS has often warned that allowing U.S. crops into India, especially without clear labelling or transparency, could sabotage domestic farming ecosystems and compromise health safety standards. On the other hand, the SJM sees this as a direct attack on economic self-reliance. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. U.S. officials have privately hinted at the urgency of the moment, pointing to a deadline set by President Donald Trump, who is seeking a revival of his trade agenda. Trump has marked August 1 as a red-letter day. If no interim deal is inked by then, India could be hit with reciprocal tariffs, potentially as high as 26 percent. Indian trade negotiators are not indifferent to that pressure. But according to officials involved in the process, the sixth round of talks will only happen in the second half of August after Trump's deadline expires. Any hope for a short-term resolution seems, at best, unrealistic. As one official put it, 'We are not looking at compromise in areas that touch the lives of millions.' In other words, GM corn is off the table. And perhaps, so is the deal, at least for now.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
U.S EU Trade deal: Who wins after tariff agreement - Donald Trump or Europe?
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs U.S EU Trade deal agreement has finally been chalked. In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump 's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15 per cent tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9 per cent economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%.Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week."The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB ."We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses."That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner."Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world."A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.A2. US is levying 15 per cent tariffs on Europe.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
U.S EU Trade deal: Who wins after tariff agreement - Donald Trump or Europe?
U.S EU Trade deal agreement has finally been chalked. In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump 's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15 per cent tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or China. U.S EU Trade Deal Face-saver for Europe? Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Finance Technology others Data Analytics Data Science PGDM MCA healthcare MBA Public Policy Product Management Leadership Healthcare Project Management Others Digital Marketing Design Thinking CXO Operations Management Management Cybersecurity Data Science Artificial Intelligence Degree Skills you'll gain: Duration: 9 Months IIM Calcutta SEPO - IIMC CFO India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Fintech & Blockchain India Starts on undefined Get Details EU has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few days. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nazlat Alsman: Unsold Sofas Prices May Surprise You (Prices May Surprise You) Sofas | Search Ads Search Now Undo While it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9 per cent economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free environment. But this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%. Live Events Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff pact. It took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week. "The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% level. That official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB . "We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses." Big Win for Donald Trump? That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final deal. Not only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for now. As talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out confrontation. The retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion euros. True, a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last year. But even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud services. It remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national divisions. Describing the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner. "Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world." FAQs Q1. Who is President of USA? A1. President of USA is Donald Trump. Q2. How much tariffs USA is levying on Europe? A2. US is levying 15 per cent tariffs on Europe.
