In the early morning of the 12th Beijing time, international Crude Oil Product prices rose on Wednesday. The EU agreed to a new round of sanctions threatening Russian oil exports, which boosted oil prices. However, last week's increase in USA fuel inventories exceeded expectations, limiting the increase.

As of Wednesday afternoon at 12:52 PM Eastern Time, Brent Crude Oil Futures rose by $1.15, an increase of 1.59%, to $73.34 per barrel.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil Futures for January delivery on the New York Commodity Exchange increased by $1.40, up 2.04%, to $69.99 per barrel.

Hungary, the rotating presidency of the EU, announced that EU ambassadors agreed on Wednesday to impose a 15th round of sanctions against Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on X, "I welcome the adoption of our 15th round of sanctions, particularly against Russia's shadow fleet."

The so-called 'shadow fleet' has helped Russia circumvent the G7's price cap of $60 per barrel imposed on Russian marine Crude Oil in 2022 and has assisted in maintaining the flow of Russian oil.

The market is also paying attention to US energy inventories. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that gasoline inventories in the USA increased by 5.086 million barrels last week, compared to an expected increase of 1.2 million barrels; distillate inventories increased by 3.235 million barrels, versus an expected increase of 1 million barrels; and Cushing crude oil inventories decreased by 1.298 million barrels.

The report also stated that last week, the USA Crude Oil Product refinery utilization rate decreased by 0.9 percentage points, estimated to decline by 0.1 percentage points. Crude Oil Product imports decreased by 1.306 million barrels per day. Crude Oil Product production increased by 0.118 million barrels per day.