Europe agrees to phase out Russian oil imports
Originally uploaded on May 05, 2022
It has been another challenging week for the oil market as prices continue to edge higher.
The price of wholesale oil has continued to be affected as the European Union, the world’s largest trading alliance, signified plans to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. Europe currently imports over 3.5 million barrels of Russian oil products daily. The outline proposal from the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presents a phased exit from using Russian crude oil over 6 months followed by moving away from their refined products by the end of December 2022, adding to an already tense global supply situation.
In China, both full and partial lockdowns continue to help soften some of the upward pressure on global oil prices. However, significant concerns have been raised regarding the impact of the lockdowns on China’s already fragile economic situation. Wood Mackenzie’s Head of Economics suggests all indicators relating to the Chinese economy have plunged into the red, with the expectation for China’s GDP to sallow further in the second quarter.
In the UK, the national average retail price for fuel now stands at £1.76 pence per litre for Diesel and £1.61 pence per litre for Unleaded, with further rises likely over the coming weeks. Fuel card customers will likely see a rise in the region of 2-3ppl during the second week of May.
Looking forward:
Due to the current climate, we are currently developing updates to our current fuel card spend reports that will allow customers to identify potential savings with greater ease. Make sure you are following us on social media and keeping up to date with our blog for when we announce these changes.