Urals crude falls below price cap for the first time on weak Brent, costly shipping

Russia’s Urals crude at Baltic ports fell below the $47.60 per barrel European Union price cap on Wednesday for the first time, pressured by a five-month low in benchmark Brent prices and higher freight costs, Reuters calculations based on data from traders showed.

The price of Urals on a free-on-board basis at the port of Primorsk fell to around $47.40 per barrel on Wednesday, according to Reuters’ calculations.

In July, the European Union agreed its eighteenth package of sanctions against Russia, including measures aimed at dealing further blows to the Russian oil and energy industry.