Oil stocks surge as the US imposes fresh sanctions on Russia, with Goldman asserting that global oil supply expectations are tightening at an accelerated pace.

Oil stocks defied the trend, with CNOOC (02883) up 2.74% to HK$7.12; CNOOC (00883) up 2.87% to HK$19.36; Petrochina (00857) up 1.8% to HK$6.21; Sinopec (00386) up 0.23% to HK$4.35 as of the time of writing.

On the news front, on January 10, the United States announced a new round of sanctions against the Russian economy. The sanctions targeted Russian oil producers, tankers, intermediaries, traders, and ports, including Gazprom and Surgutneftegaz and its subsidiaries, more than 180 tankers, and more than a dozen Russian energy officials and executives. The sanctions are the most stringent measures against Russia's energy sector to date, aimed at cutting off Russia's main source of funding for the conflict in Ukraine. The new measures also include a blockade of multiple energy-related entities and restrictions on Russia's ability to earn US dollars from energy exports.

Notably, last Friday, international oil prices rose more than 4% on the back of a decline in US oil inventories, with Brent crude futures, the benchmark for international oil prices, breaking above US$80 a barrel to reach its highest level since October. Goldman said that the extreme cold weather in the United States had led to a drop in the level of stocks in Oklahoma's Cushing to its lowest level since 2014, and the rise in oil prices was also due to concerns among commodity traders about the policies under Donald Trump, the newly elected president of the United States, including possible sanctions against Iran and a possible global trade conflict that could disrupt energy flows, and the global oil supply outlook is tightening rapidly.