By David Ho

Investing.com – Oil was down on Thursday morning in Asia as prices steadied after an initial rise from Russia placing sanctions on some European gas companies.

At 11:01PM ET (1:01 AM GMT), the price fell to $106.44 and then dropped to $104.66 by 0.99%.

Russia responded by sanctioning 31 businesses from those countries who had imposed sanctions against Moscow during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Unease has been caused by the events as Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine decreased 25%. The event marked the first interruption of exports from Ukraine since the invasion.

As supply worries rose, prices have increased by more than 35%.

An agreement is being made by the European Union on Russian oil. Analysts believe this would tighten market conditions and change trade flows. However, the vote must be unanimously supported and Hungary opposed it.

Concerns about China’s potential fall in demand have also weighed on price increases, while it attempts to curtail the spread coronavirus by locking down markets.

Stephen Innes (managing partner, SPI Asset Management), stated that oil prices may remain low until China offers significant support or policymakers devise a different strategy than COVID.