The G7 is out with a statement saying it's renewing efforts to establish price caps on seaborne Russian oil.
The Coalition is issuing this statement to underscore the risks of violating price cap rules. In the normal course of business, Coalition service providers may interact with market participants in other jurisdictions. Where we have evidence that companies or persons have engaged in illicit or deceptive practices related to shipments of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products, we will respond in accordance with the respective restrictive measures established by the Coalition Members.
The US took actions to impose sanctions on two entities for breaking the cap.
WTI crude oil is up $1.15 to $84.64 today despite the strong dollar and lower risk assets. Late on Wednesday, the API published a huge build in US oil inventories and the official EIA numbers are due out at the bottom of the hour. It appears the market is looking beyond the latest inventory numbers and focused on better US gasoline demand, possibly due to lower cracks.
