Oil jumps 5% as Caspian pipeline disruption adds to supply fears

  • Federal Oil prices jumped 5.0% to over $121 a barrel on Wednesday as disruptions to Russian and Kazakh crude exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) added to worries over tight global supplies. 
  • Brent crude futures were up $4.83, or 4.2%, at $120.30 a barrel as of 1:55 p.m. EDT (1755 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $4.39, or 4%, to $113.70 a barrel. 
  • Crude oil exports from Kazakhstan's CPC terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast stopped fully on Wednesday after damage caused by a major storm and continued bad weather, a port ship agent and the head of CPC said. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak later said that oil supplies by the CPC may be completely stopped for up to two months. 
  • The CPC pipeline carries around 1.2 million barrels per day of Kazakhstan's main crude grade, which accounts for 1.2% of global demand. The situation adds to market worries about the ripple effect of heavy sanctions on Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter after it invaded Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.

(Source: Reuters)