Oil prices little changed as investors eye impact of new sanctions on Russia
ADVERTISEMENT Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $69.33 a barrel by 0040 GMT after settling 0.35% higher on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.36 a barrel, up 2 cents, following a 0.30% gain in the previous session.
The European Union approved on Friday the 18th package of sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, which also targeted India's Nayara Energy, an exporter of oil products refined from Russian crude.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia had built up a certain immunity to Western sanctions. Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer with a stake in Nayara, on Sunday criticised the sanctions as unjustified and illegal, saying the restrictions directly threatened India's energy security. Iran, another sanctioned oil producer, is due to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul with Britain, France and Germany 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.
ADVERTISEMENT In the U.S., the number of operating oil rigs fell by two to 422 last week, the lowest since September 2021, Baker Hughes said on Friday. Separately, U.S. tariffs on imports from the European Union are set to kick in on August 1, although U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States could secure a trade deal with the bloc.
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Mint
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Investors eye possible US-Europe trade deal as deadline looms
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Hindustan Times
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India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Stop fuelling Russia's aggression: US warns China at UN over Ukraine war
Tensions flared between the United States and China at the United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, as Washington accused Beijing of aiding Russia's war in Ukraine through the export of dual-use goods, while China refuted the claims and warned against US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, urged countries, specifically naming China, to halt exports that contribute to Russia's military capabilities, including components found in drones and missiles used against claim to have implemented strong export controls on dual-use goods falls apart in the face of daily recovery of Chinese-produced components in the drones, weapons, and vehicles that Russia uses against Ukraine,' Shea told the 15-member Security Council. She emphasised that the continued flow of such goods to Russia helps its missile and drone attacks, and undermines global efforts to curb the conflict. 'If China is sincere in calling for peace, it should stop fuelling Russia's aggression,' Shea in turn, pushed back strongly against the accusations. China's deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang defended Beijing's stance, asserting that China has maintained strict controls and has not contributed weapons to the conflict.'China did not start the war in Ukraine, is not a party to the conflict, has never provided lethal weapons, and has always 'strictly controlled dual-use materials, including the export of drones,'' Geng also criticised the US for deflecting responsibility, saying, 'We urge the US to stop shifting blame on the Ukraine issue or creating confrontation and instead play a more constructive role in promoting ceasefire and peace talks.'Earlier, an investigation by news agency Reuters revealed that Chinese-made engines have been secretly routed to a Russian state-owned drone manufacturer under the guise of "industrial refrigeration units" in an attempt to bypass Western sanctions.- EndsWith inputs from ReutersMust Watch
