Oil jumps $5 a barrel as EU nears ban on Russian oil | Reuters

Oil jumps $5 a barrel as EU nears ban on Russian oil | Reuters

Oil prices jumped on Wednesday, as the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc, spelled out plans to phase out imports of Russian oil, raising concerns about further market tightness as those nations hunt for adequate supply.

Crude benchmarks have risen steadily over the past two months following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Until now, the European Union has been reluctant to fully cut off imports of Russian oil and gas, and its plans still do not suggest a full ban for all EU members.

Europe imports some 3.5 million barrels of Russian oil and oil products daily, and also depends on Moscow's gas supplies.

"Inventories are so tight, so against this backdrop, when you're talking about this ban, there are a lot of questions on how (Europe) is going to make up for this," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

Brent crude futures settled up $5.17, or 4.9%, to $110.14 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled at $107.81 a barrel, up $5.40, or 5.3%.