Brent has been holding near the maximum since November last year

During Monday's trading, the price of oil reached the level of $89 per barrel, which was the highest since November last year. On Tuesday, the quotes show a moderate decline, nevertheless continuing to remain close to the values reached. 

The current quotation of Brent crude oil is $88.05 per barrel, North American WTI oil is trading at $81.60 (yesterday's WTI maximum was reached at $82.44 per barrel).

Oil prices are supported by hopes for a recovery in demand as the Chinese economy opens up. A weak dollar also has an additional impact on the growth of quotations. Analysts note that North American WTI oil may continue to grow not only due to improved forecasts for China, but also due to expectations that the Fed will slow down the pace of rate hikes.

At the same time, the current market situation suggests that investors may underestimate the prospects for an increase in fuel demand from Chinese consumers or the expected reduction in oil production in Russia. As expected, the price ceiling for Russian petroleum products, including fuel oil and diesel fuel, will come into force on February 5.

In 2022, Russia was the largest supplier of diesel fuel to the European Union, providing almost half of imports in 2022. The suspension of imports from the Russian Federation will reduce the supply of diesel fuel by more than 660 thousand barrels per day.