- March 7, 2022
- Posted by: Stratford Team
- Category: Economy
Many players are already putting a precautionary stop to their oil purchases from Russia. Those that haven’t may now think twice, after Shell Plc’s purchase of a cargo of crude was criticized by Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba as smelling of “Ukrainian blood.”
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In a market where West Texas Intermediate crude averaged about $51 a barrel for six solid years from the start of 2015 to the end of 2020 and dipped as low as minus $40 less than two years ago, current trading north of $130 seems like the start of the apocalypse. In truth, it’s very nearly a return to normal. For the previous five years from the start of 2010, the price averaged $92 — or about $119 at the start of that period, after adjusting for inflation using the U.S. consumer price index. War and sanctions the like of which the world has rarely seen in decades are only driving petroleum to levels that would have seemed routine a…
