Oil prices soared on Tuesday following news that European Union leaders had reached a consensus on a plan to ban nearly all Russian oil imports by the end of the year, seeking to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine, even as the bloc scrambles to secure alternative supplies.
News of the embargo, which is slated to be finalized this week, sent crude oil futures rising Tuesday morning to the highest levels in more than a decade. International benchmark Brent Crude saw a 1.90% increase, rising to $123.98 a barrel in the early hours of trading, near the highest price since 2012.
Meanwhile, futures for the U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate climbed to their highest levels in more than a decade, rising as high as $119.10 a barrel Tuesday morning — a roughly 3.50% spike. The last time prices were close to this high was mid-March.
Leaders said on Tuesday that the planned oil embargo would immediately hit 75% of Russian oil imports to the bloc. It will halt all Russian seaborne oil imports by the end of the year, though it includes a temporary exemption for pipeline crude. The exemption is part of an eleventh-hour scramble to appease holdout nations such as Hungary, a landlocked country that remains deeply dependent on Russian crude.
Still, EU leaders touted the agreement on Tuesday as a victory for the bloc, which has struggled for nearly a month to reach a consensus on an embargo.
“This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine,” European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter.
#Unity
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 30, 2022
Agreement to ban export of Russian oil to the EU.
This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine.
Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.
#EUCO
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also signaled confidence, telling reporters at a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday that leaders “should be able to soon return to the issue of the remaining 10% of pipeline oil.”
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“We have agreed that the Council will revert to the topic as soon as possible in one way or the other … but this is a big step forward, what we did today,” von der Leyen said of the embargo.