Jakarta –
Russia facing enormous economic challenges. This is because the country is faced with sanctions from a number of countries which have an impact on its currency, the ruble, the stock market, and other assets.
This also raises questions. One of them is related to the response of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There are fears if Putin retaliates, not only with natural gas but also with crude oil as a weapon against the West.
“Russia’s energy supply is very risky, either because it is being held back by Russia as a weapon or pulled from the market due to sanctions,” said Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy. CNNWednesday (2/3/2022).
The world’s oil supply has failed to meet demand. If Russia which is the world’s second oil producer deliberately withholding supplies, possibly sending oil prices skyrocketing. It dealt a painful blow to consumers around the world.
JPMorgan has warned that oil prices will jump to $150 per barrel if Russian exports are cut in half. That would mean an increase of about 41% from the recent high of nearly US$106 per barrel.
This condition will raise the price of gasoline. The average price in the United States (US) for regular gasoline has reached US$ 3.61 per gallon. The price was up 8 cents a week and 25 cents a month.
US consumes very little oil Russia (imports from Russia 90,000 barrels per day in December). However, a shock to supply in one part of the world will have an impact on prices everywhere.
“It’s a wild card if Russia is really going to slow down those flows to try to inflict pain through commodities,” said Ryan Fitzmaurice, energy strategist at Rabobank.
“If there’s an actual supply disruption, that’s the trigger for a meaningful price hike,” he continued.
See also ‘Russian attack blows up Ukrainian oil refinery’:
(acd / ara)
–
