Oil Prices Surge As EU Says It Will Ban Russian Imports

Oil prices surged yesterday after the European Union announced plans to ban all oil imports from Russia, saying president Vladimir Putin “must pay a high price” for his “brutal aggression” against Ukraine.

- Rory Sullivan, Ben Chapman

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen unveiled proposals for a phased oil embargo as well as sanctions against Moscow's top bank in a bid to deepen Russia's isolation. If it goes ahead, the plan would mark a major escalation in European efforts to cut funding to Putin's war machine.

It also threatens to push up fuel prices for motorists and businesses across Europe, who are already facing record costs to their tanks. Brent crude, the key international oil price benchmark, jumped by $4, or 3.8 per cent, to $108.97 a barrel.

Europe imports some 3.5 million barrels of Russian oil and oil products daily, and also depends on Moscow's gas supplies. The EU intends to stop buying supplies of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year. It has already decided to implement a full ban on Russian coal, but has not yet taken steps against Russian natural gas supplies.