Oil prices and Russia: Russia has won the confrontation in the oil market. This was stated by Bloomberg analyst Javier Blas.

According to Blas, you can see this fact, “no matter what indicator you use. For example, the volume of oil production in the country shows that Moscow is in a winning position. Last month, they were almost back to the level of the beginning of the year and amounted to almost 10.8 million barrels per day. 

Also, the price of Russian oil plays into Moscow’s hands. Initially Russia was forced to sell the crude at big discounts, but at the moment it has restored its price capacity with the help of limited supply on the market. According to the observer, this indicates that energy sanctions are not working at the moment.

Also, Russia’s measure of success is political, not market-based. In the spring, Western countries were almost certain that OPEC would abandon its alliance with Russia, but the result was the opposite. Blas said that in November, once new sanctions come into force, European countries will face a difficult choice as the energy crisis will start to affect consumers and companies. Today, oil prices are directly affected by Russia and Ukraine. 

According to him, cold weather, a sharp increase in demand for electricity and inflation could undermine Western support for Ukraine at the end of the year.

Earlier we reported that the IEA has ruled out another rally in oil prices.