Oil Declines on Russia, Possible Drawdown of Reserves — Market Talk

US benchmark oil prices continue to retreat from Tuesday’s seven-year high, with WTI crude recently down 1.5% at $76.30 a barrel. “The announcement that Russia has plan to fix the Gas shortage problem in Europe is pressuring oil prices, dropping them back to last week’s levels. However, we see the Russia plan being short-lived,” said Peter Cardillo at Spartan Capital. Investors are also on the bearish side after US government officials raised the possibility of releasing crude-oil from the nation’s reserves as a way to boost market supplies and reduce soaring gasoline prices. The national average pump price climbed another 2 cents overnight to a new seven-year high of $3.24 a gallon, AAA says.