FX.co ★ Shell pledges to withdraw from Russian oil and gas

Shell bought 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude from Russia on Friday. It was reportedly bought at a record discount as many firms shunned Russian oil because of Moscow's invasion of the neighbouring country. This purchase did not violate any Western sanctions. However, the company was heavily criticised for such actions, including by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who called on the firm to sever all business ties with Russia.

Today the largest oil company, Shell, has already apologised for buying a batch of Russian oil and announced that it is refusing any further purchases of Russian oil and gas. As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil. It will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia. Shell Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden, said: "We are acutely aware that our decision last week to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil to be refined into products like petrol and diesel – despite being made with the security of supplies at the forefront of our thinking – was not the right one and we are sorry."

Shell has also indicated that it intends to exit its joint ventures with the Russian gas giant Gazprom and related entities, and that it is ready to direct profits from its heavily discounted purchases of Russian oil to a fund intended for humanitarian aid for people in Ukraine.

Van Beurden pointed out that the problems created by the Russian-Ukrainian war make it very difficult to choose between putting pressure on the Russian government and ensuring a stable supply of energy throughout Europe. He added that ultimately governments had to make the incredibly difficult and compromise decisions that needed to be made during the war in Ukraine.

Oil prices rose at the beginning of the week but stabilised slightly by Tuesday. WTI crude fell from a high of $123 to $119.40, but later climbed back to $122.

As for US stock index futures, they rose slightly on Tuesday morning on the worst day for the S&P 500 since October last year. Investors remain concerned about rising oil prices and slowing economic growth amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures traded up 0.21% and Nasdaq 100 futures were just above breakeven.

As for the technical picture of the S&P 500

The pressure on the index remains, and there is much less good news than bad. Today, the bulls will try to gain a foothold above $ 4,292. If this fails, the pressure on the trading instrument will increase, which will lead to a decrease in the area of $ 4,233. A breakdown of this range will increase the pressure on the index and return the bear market with the prospect of updating the lows already: $ 4,175 and $ 4,113. Fixing above $ 4,292 will leave hope for a market recovery, however, what will happen in the regular session today is a big question. With growth, we can expect new active sales already in the region of $ 4,341 and $ 4,383. A lot will depend on the further development of the conflict on the territory of Ukraine and the possible dialogue between the presidents of the two countries.