World oil prices on Friday rose by 1.5% on fears of a decrease in the supply of “black gold” in the market. This is evidenced by trading data. At the moment, the price of July futures for Brent crude oil is growing.

Fears that a shortage of oil is coming continue to affect oil prices, as the ongoing news about the imposition of a ban on Russian oil in the EU fuels these fears.

“For oil market participants, the ever-changing news flow from the EU is a central issue, as the energy dispute between the EU and Russia turns into a comedy of errors,” SPI Asset Management analysts say.

Brent crude futures rose $1.88, or 1.8%, to $109.33 a barrel at 1227 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose $1.96, or 1.9%, to $108.09 per barrel.

However, a weekly decline was expected in both benchmark contracts, with Brent set to fall more than 2% and WTI just over 1%.

Volatile global demand and the prospect of an EU ban on oil from Russia continue to weigh heavily on the market.

Steven Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, observed that oil traders were looking for “a glimmer of light at the end of China’s bleak lockdown tunnel”.

“Unsurprisingly, lower demand expectations were fueled by Covid-related restrictions in China, higher prices and more modest economic growth,” ING analysts said.

Earlier today, authorities in Beijing dismissed rumors that the Chinese capital will be closed due to a rise in COVID cases as lockdowns in the country’s financial hub, Shanghai, tighten.

The increase in Fed rates strengthened the US dollar, thereby limiting the rise in oil prices, since a stronger dollar automatically makes oil more expensive when bought in other currencies.

Moscow imposed sanctions on the European branches of Gazprom, and Ukraine stopped the main gas transit route, which confirmed analysts in fear of an EU embargo on a valuable resource of Russia.

“With natural gas prices skyrocketing in Europe, some spillover into oil is inevitable,” said OANDA market analyst Geoffrey Halley.

“The escalation of sanctions by Russia is likely to be reflected in the rise in oil prices,” he added.

In Europe, gas quotes are currently declining after a recent rise.

June gas futures on the TTF hub (Netherlands) on ICE Futures were trading at 101.995 EUR/MWh (1091.5 USD/1000 m3) by 11:32 Moscow time on May 13, a decrease of 4.41% over the day.

Investors are analyzing new reports from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC.

The IEA lowered its expectations for oil demand growth in 2022 by 100 thousand barrels per day, predicting that oil demand in 2022 will increase by 1.8 million barrels per day to 99.4 million barrels per day. day.

OPEC also lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2022 by 310,000 barrels per day compared to its own previous forecast to 3.67 million barrels per day, and will amount to 100.29 million barrels per day .

Both reports expect oil demand to pick up in 2H 2022 as population mobility rises, China’s lockdown eases, summer driving season begins and air travel picks up.