Crude Oil Futures

  Having crossed the psychologically-sensitive $100 a barrel a few months ago, the crude oil markets are convinced that it is going to be the new-normal for months to come in the current circumstances. As the West has not lost the momentum in tightening the screw of the sanctions against Russia, there is no possibility of oil and gas flowing into the international markets legally from the latter at any time in the foreseeable future.  That means, the serious supply woes are going to continue for a prolonged period, as the major producers are not in a mood to boost the production in order to meet the demand; they simply drag their feet despite being under tremendous pressure - and for the obvious reasons. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia have shown remarkable growth in the first quarter,  Q1,  in 2022, thanks to high crude oil prices; it was a far cry from what they went through in 2020, when oil prices crashed at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global demand plummeted in proport

  With the partial ban of Russian oil in place in the EU, the scramble for finding alternatives by the major consuming nations is gathering momentum across the world, despite the outcome being far from certain. As of 09:00 on Thursday, WTI and Brent stood at $112.75 and $113.83 respectively with the price of the LNG, liquified natural gas, at $8.80, an increase by over 100% since the war in Ukraine. Judging by many relevant indicators, the supply chaos continues unabated that does not help maintaining the prices at reasonable levels at present.  Amidst the growing uncertainties, the EIA, US Energy Information Administration, reported a modes crude draw on Wednesday; the API, American Petroleum Institute, meanwhile reported a modest build, a day earlier.  Neither had any significant effect on the movement of the crude oil prices, though. It is no secret that the OPEC has come under unprecedented pressure to play its role constructively in a critical global emergency; much to the frustra