Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia may raise crude prices for Asian buyers in March to their highest in more than a year after benchmark prices spiked on higher demand from China and India as U.S. sanctions disrupted Russian supply, traders said on Monday.
Sweeping US sanctions on Russia’s oil industry are unlikely to result in a “large hit” to production, as higher freight rates and the nation’s cheap crude support the trade, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
US President Donald Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and other OPEC nations to “bring down the cost of oil,” casting the push for more crude output as a way to heighten pressure on Russia and help end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
Oil fell after President Donald Trump said he’ll push Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce the price of crude, reviving a tactic to control energy prices that he frequently employed during his first term in office.
Trump on Wednesday widened his threats to include a 10% tariff on China and the EU, two of the world’s largest energy markets. The new threats follow Trump’s plans to impose tariffs as high as 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, which are major crude suppliers to the US.
Analysts at Wall Street bank Citigroup have predicted that oil prices will remain elevated in 2025 thanks to U.S. sanctions on oil exports, logistical challenges and strategic policy decisions by major producers and governments. Citigroup notes that Over 180 vessels, integral to transporting Russian crude, are now restricted. Two weks ago, the Biden administration issued sanctions against Russian crude, and targeted Surgutneftgas and Gazprom Neft, two firms that handle 25% of Russian oil exports. The two companies shipped an average of 970,000 bbls per day in 2024. Earlier, Citigroup issued a Brent crude average price target of $67 per barrel for 2025, well below current price at $79.10.
Venture Global LNG is preparing to cut the proposed price range for its blockbuster initial public offering and increase the number of shares it may sell to investors, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
Last month, a survey by law firm Haynes Boone LLC revealed that banks are gearing up for oil prices to fall below $60 a barrel by the middle of President-elect Donald Trump’s new term. Trump says he’ll push shale producers to ramp up output.
Oil prices fell in Monday’s morning session as traders await U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in the hope of some clarity on his policy agenda. Brent crude for March delivery was down 1.5% to trade at $79.66 per barrel at 11.20 am ET while WTI crude for February delivery declined 1.8% to $76.46 per barrel. According to PVM oil analyst Tamas Varga, the price declines can be chalked up to the huge uncertainty over the incoming president’s new policies.
The Suez Canal is one of the most important channels of the global oil trade. Northbound traffic worth ~3.9 million bpd is dominated by crude oil from Middle East producers to Europe and also middle distillates from India and the Middle East. Southbound traffic, estimated at 2.9 million bpd, comprises crude flows mainly from Russia to Asian customers, and also refined products naphtha and fuel oil. The United States, Qatar and Russia are the leading shippers of LNG via Suez.