Oil prices eased on Tuesday but remained near four-month highs as the impact of fresh U.S. sanctions on Russian oil remained the market’s key focus.
Brent futures slipped 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $80.73 a barrel by 0400 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 18 cents, or 0.2% to $78.64 a barrel.
Prices jumped 2% on Monday after the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as well as 183 vessels that trade oil as part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers.
“Headlines surrounding Russia oil sanctions have been the dominant driver for oil prices over the past week, and combined with resilient U.S. economic data, the tighter supply-demand dynamics have been seeing some momentum,” said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
“Prices are taking a slight breather today. With prices rising fast and furious by close to 10% since the start of the year, it does prompt some profit-taking as event risks around upcoming U.S. inflation data releases loom.”
