Brent soars highest since May 2012 as US Sanctions target Russia

Brent hit a high of $ 120 a barrel in almost 10 years, due to US sanctions on Russian refiners, turmoil in shipments. Brent crude futures rose as high as $119.84 a barrel, the highest since May 2012. The rise is followed by the latest round of sanctions on Russia’s oil refinery sector that raised topics on concerns that Russian oil and gas exports could be targeted next.

As Washington seeks to use economic sanctions to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, Russia's oil and gas stopped targeting exports. 

According to the International Energy Agency, Russia is the third-largest oil producer in the world and the largest exporter of oil to the world market. According to the agency, Russia's crude oil and petroleum product exports reached 7.8 million barrels a day in December.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Russia, known as OPEC+, and its allies decided in March to increase production by 400,000 barrels a day, evading consumer demand for crude oil.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Tehran on Saturday, Iran's news agency Nournews reports, which may help pave the way for a revival of  2015 nuclear trade with Iran's great powers.

Meanwhile, US oil inventories continued to decline. Oklahoma's main oil hub, Cushing's tank, was the lowest since 2018, but US strategic stockpiles were at their lowest levels in almost 20 years, ahead of another release shared with other industrialized nations on Tuesday.