Oil prices have been fluctuating since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a month ago because Russia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters. Many Western countries, including the United States, announced a complete ban on Russian oil imports on March 8, causing oil prices to rise. The European Union has been considering imposing an oil import embargo on Russia, which might cause oil prices to climb further in the near term.
However, OPEC and the U.S. have been in talks to boost global oil production in the wake of the sanctions on Russia. Earlier today, the White House announced its plans to release a record one million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months. Following this news release, Brent crude futures fell by nearly 5%. Nevertheless, because the market remains volatile with multiple attacks on Saudi oil reserves over the past month and a potential German ban on Russian oil, energy prices are expected to fluctuate wildly in the near term.
