🔰 Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian refining operations are driving up oil prices. These attacks have resulted in the shutdown of approximately 7% of Russian refining capacity, equivalent to about 370,500 barrels per day.
❗ Global Per day oil consumption is nearly 97 Million Barrel per day.
🔰 Compounding this disruption is decreased output from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iraq, the second-largest producer in OPEC, is scaling back crude exports to 3.3 million barrels per day to offset its overuse of the OPEC+ quota since January.
🔰 Beyond the supply-side constraints, a demand-driven push is expected to raise oil prices. China, the world’s largest oil importer, has witnessed a significant uptick in demand. Despite underwhelming performance in the real estate sector, factory output and retail sales in China exceeded expectations during January-February.
🔰 The surge in oil prices always brings the threat of rising inflation. In September 2023, crude oil prices increased due to production cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia, and rising demand from China, brent crude shot up to $95 Per barrel.
