Oil rises amid Russian sanctions and the announcement from China while awaiting the Federal decision.

Crude oil prices rose during Wednesday's trading, coinciding with investors' anticipation of another interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve at the end of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, on one hand, and the announcement of new Russian sanctions on the other hand.

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In terms of trading, Brent crude oil futures rose by 0.64% to $73.72 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures increased by 0.4% to reach $70.42 per barrel.

What Affected Oil Movements Today?

Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors awaited the anticipated interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and monitored the potential impacts of additional Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia.

This came after the European Union announced on Tuesday that it had adopted new sanctions against Russia, adding 33 more vessels from the shadow fleet used to transport Russian crude oil or petroleum products to the sanctions list. The United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on 20 vessels for illegally carrying Russian oil, raising some concerns about a global oil supply shortage from the world’s second-largest OPEC+ member.

On another note, the Chinese government announced on Tuesday plans to inject a new stimulus package into the economy by increasing the budget deficit target by 1%; from 3% this year to 4% of GDP, which amounts to approximately 1.3 trillion yuan. This could boost consumption and domestic spending, thereby enhancing demand for oil in the world's largest crude importer.