LONDON (Reuters) - The latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russian oil, announced last Friday, could significantly disrupt Russia's oil supply and distribution chains, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly oil market report on Wednesday.
The Paris-based agency held its supply forecasts for Russia and Iran steady for this month given an uncertain outlook over the full impact of the new sanctions, but said that Washington's measures could result in a tightening of crude oil and fuel balances.
"While exhaustive, the full impact on the oil market and on access to Russian supply is uncertain," the agency said.
The IEA said that tighter sanctions, as well as a cold weather snap in the northern hemisphere, had propelled crude prices above $80 a barrel in early January. Brent futures were trading at $80.12 a barrel at 0850 GMT.
(Reporting by Robert Harvey and Alex Lawler in London; editing by Jason Neely)