Oil prices edge down on expected minimal sanctions impact
Brent crude futures dropped 38 cents, or 0.55%, to $68.90 a barrel by 0925 GMT after settling 0.35% down on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 30 cents, or 0.45%, to $67.04 after a 0.3% decline in the previous session.
The European Union on Friday approved the 18th package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, which also targeted India's Nayara Energy, an exporter of oil products refined from Russian crude.
"The latest round of EU sanctions aren't necessarily going to change the oil balance. That's why the market is not reacting much," said Harry Tchiliguirian at Onyx Capital Group. "Russians have been very good at circumventing these kinds of sanctions."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had built up a certain immunity to Western sanctions.
The EU sanctions followed U.S. President Donald Trump's threats last week to impose sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees to a peace deal within 50 days.
ING analysts said the part of the package likely to have an impact is the EU import ban on refined oil products processed from Russian oil in third countries, though it said it could prove difficult to monitor and enforce.
Iran, another sanctioned oil producer, is due to hold nuclear talks with Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. That follows warnings by the three European countries that a failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran.
In the U.S., the number of operating oil rigs fell by two to 422 last week, the lowest total since September 2021, Baker Hughes said on Friday.
U.S. tariffs on European Union imports are set to kick in on August 1, though U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that he was confident the United States could secure a trade deal with the bloc.
"Tariff concerns will continue to weigh in the lead up to the August 1 deadline, while some support may come from oil inventory data if it shows tight supply," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
"It feels very much like a $64-$70 range in play for the week ahead."
Brent crude futures have traded between a low of $66.34 a barrel and a high of $71.53 after a ceasefire deal on June 24 halted the 12-day Israel-Iran war.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
New FEMA grants set to hand out $600M to states so they can build migrant detention facilities
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is planning to give out more than $608 million in grants to states and local jurisdictions to build more immigration detention facilities, as the Trump administration seeks to expand U.S. detention capacity and quickly deport millions of people. 'This will relieve overcrowding in the U.S. Custom and Border Protection's short-term holding facilities, further the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement plans and complement U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operational priorities,' the agency wrote in a notice detailing the new Detention Support Grant Program. The funding will support the creation of more facilities like Florida's ' Alligator Alcatraz ' detention center, a converted swamp airstrip where detainees say they have faced inhumane conditions, abuse, and highly restricted access to legal counsel. The facility has faced legal challenges from environmental, tribal, and civil rights groups. Florida has said it will seek federal reimbursement for the facility, which has already cost the state $245 million in contracts to build and operate. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the federal government will seek to reimburse Florida through FEMA's $650 million shelter and services program — money outside the agency's disaster budget relief set aside by Congress under Joe Biden's administration to cover the cost of housing migrants. The government has also ramped up spending on federal facilities, awarding a $1.26 billion contract to build a sprawling tent facility at an Army base in Texas that will be the largest immigrant detention center in the country. The Trump administration's One Big, Beautiful Bill spending package awards ICE an additional $45 billion for detaining migrants, a virtually unprecedented funding increase. The detention spending spree comes as the Trump administration has sought to reduce FEMA's federal footprint. In April, FEMA announced it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program focused on preventing natural disasters, prompting a lawsuit from Democrat-led states. The Trump administration has also rejected 16 of the 18 applications for FEMA's 'hazard mitigation' funds after flooding across the country this year, according to an analysis from The Hill. However, this week, the White House announced four states that had recently been hit with disasters would get emergency funding: Indiana, which experienced deadly tornadoes in March; Michigan, which experienced ice storms in March; Kentucky, which experienced flooding and tornadoes in April and May; and West Virginia, which experienced flooding and tornadoes in June. The administration said earlier in the year it would eliminate FEMA entirely, moving disaster response to the states, but has since backtracked, saying it seeks a rebranding at the agency rather than a total shutdown.
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Inter Miami acquire M Rodrigo De Paul from Atletico
July 26 - Inter Miami acquired Argentine midfielder Rodrigo De Paul from LaLiga powerhouse Atletico Madrid. The MLS club announced the move late Friday, with De Paul arriving on loan through 2025 with a purchase option that could make the deal permanent through 2029. De Paul, 31, will not occupy a designated player spot on the roster as he reunites with fellow 2022 FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi. "Assembling a team that inspires our fans to dream continues to be one of our primary aspirations, so we're thrilled to sign a player of Rodrigo's caliber. He is a winner who has conquered the world stage; his ambitions match ours at Inter Miami, and we are hungry to achieve these goals together," Inter Miami CF managing owner Jorge Mas said. "Several of the best players in global futbol have already chosen Inter Miami as their home, and Rodrigo joining our roster is another landmark as we continue on this journey to change the trajectory of the sport in this country and make our fans proud." De Paul has accumulated 57 goals and 74 assists in nearly 500 professional matches with Argentina's Racing Club (2012-14), Italy's Udinese (2016-21) and Spain's Valencia (2014-16) and Atletico (2021-25). "Rodrigo is a player I've admired for many years. As a leader he has brought so much to the teams he has played for -- especially with his national team Argentina," Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham said. "He brings experience, passion and quality to our team and to our city. I'm excited to welcome another World Cup-winning player not just to Inter Miami, but also to MLS." Internationally, he has been capped 78 times by Argentina. In addition to the World Cup, he helped the team win Copa America championships in 2021 and 2024. De Paul became known for his role as an enforcer for Messi. "What brings me to Inter Miami is the desire to compete, win titles, to write the pages in the club's history," De Paul said. "It's a club that is shaping up to be great, to have a long history, so that many people follow this incredible team." --Field Level Media
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Allianz Life confirms data breach affecting majority of 1.4M US customers
Hackers gained access to personal data on the majority of the 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the company confirmed Saturday. Minneapolis-based Allianz Life, a subsidiary of Munich, Germany-based Allianz SE, said the data breach happened on July 16 when a 'malicious threat actor' gained access to a third-party, cloud-based system used by the company. 'The threat actor was able to obtain personally identifiable data related to the majority of Allianz Life's customers, financial professionals, and select Allianz Life employees, using a social engineering technique,' Allianz Life said in a statement. "We took immediate action to contain and mitigate the issue and notified the FBI." The company said its own systems were not accessed, just the third-party's platform. Allianz Life said its investigation is ongoing and that the company has begun reaching out to the impacted individuals. It said the incident involves only Allianz Life in the U.S., not other Allianz corporate entities. In the case of data breaches, a 'social engineering technique' usually involves using trickery to gain access. Spokesman Brett Weinberg said he couldn't provide details because they are still investigating. Allianz Life also reported the breach to multiple other authorities, including the Maine Attorney General's Office. A filing on the agency's website said the company discovered the breach the day after it happened, and that it will be offering those affected 24 months of identity theft protection and credit monitoring. Allianz Life was known as North American Life and Casualty until it was acquired by German conglomerate Allianz SE in 1979 and changed its name to Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. It has nearly 2,000 employees in U.S., with the majority working in Minnesota, according to its website. It is one of five North American subsidiaries of the Munich-based global financial services group Allianz SE, which says it serves more than 125 million customers worldwide.
