Dec. 27 (UPI) — In response to Western price caps on Russian oil, President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday banned the export of oil to the United States and other Group of Seven and European Union nations.
The ban, which applies to all Russian oil and petroleum products, will go into effect Feb. 1 and be enforced until July 1. According to the Kremlin, oil exports to the affected Western nations can still occur, but only if Putin grants it in a special order.
This month, Western nations imposed a price cap on Russian oil that prevents the price from rising above $60 a barrel. The move was designed to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine, and any nation that sells above the price cap can lose access to insurance and financial services that are essential for oil shipments in international waters.
Analysts say Russia’s recent profit-making from high energy prices could be subsiding in the months ahead, bringing more pressure on it over its war, which also has brought sanctions against individual Russian officials, too.
The oil market didn’t actively respond to Putin’s degree, with the benchmark Brent oil price going up less than 2% Tuesday, while U.S. oil rose above $80 a barrel. Russia has rerouted much of the oil it once shipped to the West, instead sending it to nations such as China, India, and Turkey at a deep discount.
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