Russia's Urals oil from Baltic ports falls below $60 cap amid sanctions - Reuters
Russia's Urals oil from Baltic ports falls below $60 cap amid sanctions | Reuters
Russia's Urals oil from Baltic ports falls below $60 cap amid sanctions
MOSCOW, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Russia's Urals oil prices on Friday fell below the Western price cap level of $60 per barrel amid a rise in freight rates fuelled by fresh U.S. sanctions on shipowners and weaker global oil prices, two traders said and Reuters calculations showed.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement on Thursday said it had imposed sanctions on three United Arab Emirates-based companies and three vessels owned by them which it said were involved in exporting Russian crude oil priced above the $60 cap.
The U.S., other Group of Seven (G7) countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia's revenue from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions prompted by its invasion of Ukraine.
Under the terms of the cap, buyers are only able to use Western services such as shipping and insurance when Russian crude trades below $60 per barrel.
Russia's main export grade had been trading above $60 since mid-July amid output cuts by OPEC+ producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia.
On Friday freight rates for Urals oil shipments from Russia's Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga to India rose to $9.2-9.5 million per tanker per voyage from $8 million last week.
Brent futures rose 80 cents, or about 1%, to $78.22 a barrel at 1057 GMT, but still remain around their lowest levels since July.
Urals oil prices on a delivered ex-ship basis in Indian ports were stable at a discount of around $5 per barrel to dated Brent, traders said.
High transportations costs weighed on FOB prices for Russian Urals oil, traders said, adding that amid weakness in Brent the grade's price was below $60 as of Friday.
Editing by Jason Neely
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Read Next
Sri Lanka seeks investors for nuclear power plants
Sri Lanka will call for expressions of interest (EOI) in setting up nuclear power plants, its energy minister said on Friday, as it seeks cheap electricity to support its economic recovery.