Vladimir Putin made his move and now it is up to Joe Biden, says Phil Flynn of the PRICE Futures Group.
Oil prices soared after Russia moved into separatists’ parts of the Ukraine, raising the odds of an all-out war. A war that could have a major impact on the delicate balance between supply and demand in a global oil market that is much tighter than it should have ever been allowed to be. In response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would halt certification of the Nord Stream Two pipeline, saying that "it can’t happen now.” Now the market must wait to find out if Russia will respond by reducing European supply. Brent crude hit $99.00, the highest level since 2006 as a surge of buying came in.
Bloomberg News reported that Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, unanimously ratified the Kremlin’s treaties recognizing two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin had already ordered his forces into the region. Yet there is still debate as to whether this is a real invasion or just a minor incursion that Biden seemed to suggest and green light it. Later on, president Secretary of State Anthony Blinken seemed to suggest that any incursion would bring down the full wrath of US government but yet now that it’s happened, we have to wait and see if the Biden administration will back that up. Reports from the UK said that there has not been a full-scale invasion and they are going to be working on coordinated sanctions on Russia. What those sanctions are we don’t know at this point.
Yet the fall out was not just in oil. The stock market broke hard but is coming back on talk that the Fed may have to slow down on interest rate increases because of a potential oil shock to the economy. Grain markets are also soaring as the Ukraine is a major grain exporter.
Reports are also coming out that the Russian representative to the Iranian nuclear talks tweeted that the talks are nearing the finish line. Are they talking about the Iranian talks or are they talking about the Ukraine invasion?
Because of what is going on between Russia, Ukraine, and the West, it is ridiculous to consider that US is going continue with the Iranian nuclear talks. The Biden administration continues to empower our foes with their anti-fossil fuel policies and war against US oil and gas and his policies have only enriched Russia and Iran. Now Biden wants to give Iran more money and the ability to continue to wreak havoc in the region.
Iran is just crazy. What is it with Biden that he wants to appease these dangerous leaders in the world. It is the weakness that Biden has shown that has allowed Vladimir Putin to make his move. It’s just unbelievable all the damage that Joe Biden has done since he’s been elected, not only to our economy but to the stability of world peace.
US oil supply should also see declines despite Bidens SPR Release. Private sources show it fell by 1.657 million barrels in the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point. We should see crude supply fall 3.0 million barrels. We should see gasoline supply fall by 1.5 million barrels.
Distillate down 2.0 runs up 0.5.
Natural gas also popped on cold weather and the Russia-Ukraine situation. The US can only export so much LNG.
Learn more about Phil Flynn by visiting Price Futures Group.
