International oil prices were mixed.
Futures for September delivery fell 16 cents (0.22 percent) from the battlefield to $71.91 a barrel on Wednesday (local time). It fell in five trading days.
Brent crude in the North Sea rose 40 cents (0.54 percent) to $74.50 a barrel in September. It rose for five consecutive trading days.
Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, said the two oil species are facing different directions due to the possibility of Russia’s ban on gasoline exports. Russia’s energy minister said last week that he was considering introducing measures to ban gasoline exports due to rising domestic gasoline prices.
France’s warning that Iran is putting Iran at risk also put upward pressure on the benchmark Brent crude, Flynn said.
On the other hand, concerns over the spread of delta variations have put downward pressure on the WTI. Warren Patterson, head of ING’s raw material strategy division, explained, “If Europe and the U.S. retreat significantly from easing restrictions, they will send quite pessimistic signals to the crude oil market.”
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