Higher oil refining margins, rather than simply the price of crude, are driving fuels costs for consumers, United Arab Emirates energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said, adding that figures show that the oil market is balanced.

“Extreme volatility is not because of supply and demand it’s because some don’t want to buy certain crudes and it takes time for traders to move from one market to another,” he said, alluding to efforts to bypass Russian crude.

“The idea of trying to boycott certain crude is going to be risky regardless of the motives behind that.”
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Maha El Dahan and Hadeel Al Sayegh, Editing by Louise Heavens)