... decline. The North Sea Brent crude stabilized around $68–70 per barrel, returning to levels from early summer. American WTI is trading around $64–65 per barrel. This marks the first noticeable price increase in the past three weeks, although current quotes remain approximately 10% lower than last year. The state of the oil market is being influenced by several conflicting factors: Increase in Production from OPEC+: The oil alliance continues to gradually increase production. In August, the aggregate quota of key participants was raised by approximately 0.55 million ...

... hope that tensions will not escalate temporarily. On the other hand, the European Union is concurrently discussing yet another, already 19th package of restrictions against Russia, which serves as a reminder of the ongoing uncertainty. As a result, oil quotes fluctuate within a narrow range, lacking momentum for either a rise or a fall. The combination of these factors maintains a situation close to a surplus in the oil market: supply slightly exceeds demand, keeping prices at a relatively low level....

... EU is simultaneously preparing its 19th sanctions package), supporting a certain "risk premium" in prices. On the other hand, the very fact of ongoing dialogue and a pause in imposing new U.S. sanctions somewhat eases tensions. As a result, oil quotes fluctuate within a narrow range, lacking impetus for either a rally or a collapse. Resumption of Supplies from Venezuela. The easing of U.S. sanctions has allowed Chevron to resume limited exports of Venezuelan oil to the global market. Although ...

... limited. Additional support for prices was also provided by temporary disruptions to Black Sea oil exports in July, as well as reports of partial easing of US sanctions on Venezuelan oil supplies, which, however, has a long-term nature. As a result, oil quotes continue to balance: markets are waiting for clearer signals regarding the state of global demand before choosing a direction for movement. Meanwhile, gold is regaining its status as one of the most sought-after assets. After a brief correction ...

... not yet officially lifted. In this context, wouldn't it be simpler to tie damper payments to the cost of fuel on the St. Petersburg International Commodity Exchange (SPbMTSB)? For example, to the upper price limits under the existing "10-20" rule, according to which oil companies lose damper payments if the average monthly exchange price of AI-92 gasoline exceeds the internal threshold by 10%, and the exchange price of diesel fuel exceeds the internal threshold by 20%. The threshold for AI-92 gasoline is 64,515 rubles ...