International oil prices hit a new low in more than 8 months, but the global oil road reshuffle limited the decline

On Monday (September 26), international oil prices hit a new low since early January, fears of a global recession expected by rising global interest rates led to lower fuel demand, and a surge in the dollar limited the purchasing power of non-dollar consumers to buy oil, although the disruption to the oil market caused by the Russo-Ukrainian war provided some support
for prices.

Central banks in many oil-consuming countries, including the United States, the world's largest crude oil consumer, have raised interest rates in response to soaring inflation, leading to fears that austerity could trigger an economic slowdown
.

Sugandha Sachdeva, vice president of commodity research at Religare Broking, said: "Against the backdrop of major global central banks tightening monetary policy to quell rising inflation, and the dollar's strong rise to more than 20-year highs, there are concerns about an economic slowdown and becoming a major headwind price
in the crude oil market.
”

But the Russo-Ukrainian war made energy security a top issue
for governments to tackle inflation.
And as the effective date of the EU's oil ban on Russia approaches and Moscow cuts gas supplies to Europe, policymakers have put aside concerns about
the sustainability of energy supplies.

Russell Hardy, chief executive of energy trader Wido, said at an oil conference in Singapore that Russian petroleum products are expected to flow to Asia and the Middle East while supplying petroleum products from Europe, which will affect fuel transportation
.

Speaking about key short-term priorities, Hardy said: "Energy security first, price second, and sustainability
third.
Hardy also expects more than 1 million barrels of U.
S.
crude oil to be shipped to Europe every day to fill Russia's supply gap
.

Russia's crude exports to the EU and the UK fell to 1.
7 million b/d in August, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), down from 2.
6 million b/d in January, although the EU remains the largest market for
Russian crude.
The IEA also predicts that the United States may soon overtake Russia as a major supplier of crude oil to the EU and the UK
.

International crude futures prices have fallen in recent weeks for fear that a recession will reduce demand, but supply strains are expected to help oil prices return to $
100 after the EU's ban on Russian oil imports to sea in December came into effect.

Felipe Bayon, CEO of Colombia's national energy company Ecopetrol, said at the aforementioned meeting that it has been selling more oil to Europe to replace Russian supplies, while it sees increasing competition for Asian market share
.

Bayonе revealed that about 40-50% of Ecopetrol's crude oil production is exported to Asia this year, compared with 60%
last year.
In the Asian market, competition with Russia, Mexico, Canada heavy oil and Venezuelan crude oil is becoming increasingly fierce
.