Russian-US Relations Remain Strained
March 23, 2021
Yesterday’s rebound in oil prices after the big decline seems to have disappointed the bulls and the loss of momentum now has more traders taking profits. Also helping the selloff is the news of more restrictions in Europe. One third of French citizens entered a month long lockdown on Saturday, March 20th. German officials intend to extend its lockdown into the 5th month. Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister said yesterday, March 22nd that COVID-19 infections sweeping across Europe could be heading towards Great Britain as well. These actions have increased concerns and made traders cautious about the potential for the fuel demand recovery to return as quickly as had been thought.
Russian and US tension continue to be strained after President Biden’s comments about Vladimir Putin. Russia said that the US refusal to organize live online talks between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden after the US president said he believed his Russian counterpart was a killer amounted to a serious missed opportunity.
US dollar strength and the equities being a bit shaky have also put sell pressure on energy prices.