International oil prices surge due to US sanctions pressure on Russia... Strong performance in oil stocks

Oil stocks are showing strong gains early in the session on the 30th. This is interpreted as an effect of rising international oil prices, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's sanctions pressure against Russia, which has raised concerns over disruptions to Russian crude oil supplies.

As of 9:12 a.m. today, Korea Petroleum is trading at 14,550₩, up 700₩ (5.05%) from the previous trading day. In addition, Heung-gu Oil (3.97%), S-Oil (2.45%), and Jungang Enervis (1.81%) are also rising across the board.

President Trump stated on the 29th (local time) regarding when new tariff sanctions would be imposed on Russia, "Starting in 10 days," and added, "After that, we’ll impose tariffs and so on." When asked whether he was concerned that the Russian sanctions could lead to higher oil prices, he replied, "I’m not worried," and added, "We have so much oil in our country, and we’ll just produce more."

With President Trump applying sanctions pressure on Russia, international oil prices soared. On the same day at the New York Mercantile Exchange, September contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $69.21 per barrel, up $2.5 (3.74%) from the previous session. The global benchmark Brent Crude for September delivery finished at $72.51 per barrel, up $2.47 (3.53%).

Goh Jung-sam, Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com