Sergey Kondratiev, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Kommersant FM on the dynamics of the Urals oil price.
Despite Moscow's assurances, the oil embargo and the ceiling on Russian oil prices are working. The spread between benchmark Brent and export Urals has grown to 43%, and this is a new anti-record. It would be logical to limit the supply on the world market so that the price goes up, but Russia acts differently: there are more shipments in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Far East. Sergey Kondratiev, however, is optimistic:
"After all, we have lost part of the demand. Russian companies were forced to increase the differential in order to increase the attractiveness of purchases of domestic oil. In the next probably two or three months, the situation will remain difficult, the price differential will remain high. But gradually, when we see an improvement in the situation with freight and in the global market as a whole due, for example, to China's exit from lockdowns and an increase in demand, there will be an increase in prices for marker grades, and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of Urals."
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