• Europe and the G-7 started applying a price cap to oil prices, crude plunged.
• EU Commission President Von der Leyen anticipated more sanctions ahead.
• WTI trades near a weekly low of $71.11 a barrel, the lowest since December 2021.

The barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil plummeted this week and trades at levels that were last seen in December 2021. The black gold stands just above $70 a barrel, after peaking at $81.71 a barrel on Monday. The weekly drop came after the European Council, alongside the G-7, agreed on a price cap on Russian oil applicable as of December 5.

EU cap on Russian oil

“The price cap on Russian oil will limit price surges driven by extraordinary market conditions and drastically reduce the revenues Russia has earned from oil after it unleashed its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. It will also serve to stabilise global energy prices while mitigating adverse consequences on energy supply to third countries,” reads the European Commission press release from December 3.

It is worth adding that, despite not directly referring to oil prices,  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced she will propose a ninth package of sanctions against Russia.