Europe Considers Further Russian Sanctions
April 4, 2022
The US Energy Department issued a notice of sale of crude oil from the SPR on Friday, a day after President Joe Biden announced the largest release ever from the US strategic reserves. It said the first 90 million barrels of oil would be released between May and July, while another 90 million barrels will be released between August and October.
Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs were up two to a total of 533 rigs and last year at this time there we 196 rigs in operation.
The International Energy Agency, whose members include the US, most of Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea, said they would announce the amount of a coordinated release of oil from their strategic reserves this week. The IEA and its members have 1.5 billion barrels of oil in reserves.
Bullish for prices in general, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 431,000 new jobs were created in March 2022. However, this was 60,000 less than the 490,000 new jobs expected by economists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate fell to 3.6% from 3.8%. The BLS said that the labor market participation rate rose to 62.4%, still well below pre-pandemic levels.
The energy markets are higher as we start a new week as tight supplies continue to support the markets. Prices are also up on the news that Europe is considering increased sanctions against Russia. Prices continue to push higher to try and slow demand.