Oil sees muted spike on EU import ban

The immediate impact of an official EU embargo on Russian crude and products may be outweighed by a longer-term reaction

The Brent crude benchmark was up by less than 4pc in early Wednesday afternoon trading, at just shy of $109/bl, despite the European Commission proposing a ban on Russian crude and products imports by the end of the year. But, while a combination of nagging doubts about Chinese demand, lack of clarity on potential carveouts from the ban and little trader appetite to take directional price punts may have dampened the immediate impact, analysts warn of longer-term bullishness. “In the last sanctions package, we started with coal; today, we are addressing our dependency on Russian oil,” says Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “Let us be clear: it will not be easy, because some member st