Crude prices spike on reports the EU plans to ban Russian oil

Crude oil prices jumped late in the afternoon on Thursday, pushed by reports from the New York Times that the EU is drafting a ban on Russian oil products. The measure should not be assessed into details before the second round of the French presidential election planned on April 24 for which President Macron still holds a tight margin against the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Brent first nearby prices traded to a two-week high at $112.39/b yesterday and the closing out of trading positions ahead of the long Easter weekend may have fueled the bullish trend towards the close.

In the US, the Baker Hughes rig count was released on Thursday due to the Easter weekend and revealed a further increase in the number of active oil rigs to 548.