At a high of more than two weeks of argon

Oil and gas prices hit a new high on Wednesday as developments on the Russian-Ukrainian war front raised fears of possible global energy supply problems.

The rise in oil prices today was fueled by reports that the US and the EU on tomorrow, the first day of the two-day Summit of European Leaders, which will be attended by US President Joe Biden, are going to announce new sanctions against Russia and tighten the under existing sanctions in order to increase pressure on the Kremlin to end the invasion of Ukraine.

A development that intensifies fears of problems in energy supply, at a time when the Energy Intelligence Service announced a significant reduction in US oil and gasoline reserves. U.S. crude was down 2.508 million barrels, down from 3.61 million last week, and analysts at a Reuters poll expected a drop of 1.85 million barrels. During the same period, gasoline inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels, reaching 238 million barrels, while analysts expected a drop to 1.5 million barrels.

An additional boost to oil prices was provided by Russia’s warning to cut exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) by up to 1 million barrels a day, or 1% of world production, due to storm damage to berths.

Oil exports through the CPC were completely shut down on Wednesday, and the pipeline could be shut down for up to two months to repair the damage, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery jumped $ 5.66, or 5.2 percent, to close at $ 114.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude traded up $ 6.12, or 5.3%, and ended the day above $ 120 a barrel at $ 121.60.

This is the highest closing for both contracts since March 8, according to Dow Jones Market Data.