Oil edges lower as EU looks less likely to ban Russian oil | Reuters

Oil edges lower as EU looks less likely to ban Russian oil | Reuters

Oil edged lower on Tuesday after it looked unlikely that European Union nations would agree to join the United States in a Russian oil embargo in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers were split on the ban as some countries, including Germany, say the bloc is too dependent on Russia's fossil fuels to withstand such a step. read more

"It's pretty clear that the German economy will seize up so the EU is backing away from a Russian ban," said John Kilduff, partner at Again LLC in New York.

Brent crude fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $115.48 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended 36 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $111.76. On Monday, both contracts had settled up more than 7% on the potential EU ban.

Adding to supply shortages, oil exports by Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) may fall by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) while it repairs two of three mooring points damaged by a storm in Russia's section of the Black Sea, RIA news agency quoted Russia's energy ministry as saying. read more