That Rasputin guy is very crafty.
Even more money in Putin and Russia’s pockets.
Where are all your “experts” and testimony from Russians now?
You claimed the sanctions were reducing output. In essence, it dropped in April and went right back up in May.
If there is one thing to count on in life, it’s that the Euros will be hypocrites.
Don't worry. Zelenski's fan club of fellaters should be here shortly to tell us why this means Russia's economy is really in trouble.
Gasoline would be approaching $10 a gallon if not for these brave shipping operators moving Russian oil. Hats off to them!
We are funding both sides of the war.
Putin is the one benefiting from Biden’s sanctions on American oil.
check it out:
$GOGL
$SBLK
$ZIM
The Indians import heavily discounted Russian oil, relabel it and export it to Europe and probably the US who pay market price. The Russians are making a fortune and selling all the oil, gas and coal they can extract.
Will our Biden Republicans ever admit their president is the biggest f8up in history??
““This massive inflow of hard currency means there is abundant liquidity and thus low interest rates, which keep Russia’s finances more stable even as its economy deteriorates,” he said.”
Too funny!!! Russia is making bank thanks to the sanctions that the West imposed on themselves, but in order to get past the censors in the UK, they have to continue to claim that Russia’s economy ‘deteriorates’.
Hey..
If you had a choice and had to vote, and there was but two to vote for, only two.
Who would you vote for? Putin or Biden?
Well when you put all your eggs in one basket.
If they actually enforced their sanctions, their own people would be taking to the streets over lack of fuels.
Then it's not Russian oil any more, you see.
There was a bow wave of orders before sanctions take effect, as customers stocked up, and Russian oil was selling at a discount to the market price (about 20%).
There were virtually no Government imposed bans on Russian oil during those first few months. Even the ban on Russian ships at some ports specifically excluded those carrying oil, and most of the oil is carried on non-Russian ships anyway.
Reductions so far have been mostly voluntary, in preparation for Government imposed restrictions. Is this temporary or permanent? How has total Russian production or export changed?
Some modes of shipping increased, as the article highlights. They point to an increase of around 21 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, and around 27 million bpd in May - around one million bpd more, that flowed through Greek, Cypriot and Maltese ships, over those two months.
But that was not an increase in total Russian production, or total Russian export volumes. It was just a re-routing of some.
Before the war, Russia was producing over 11 million bpd in total, now it has dipped below 9 million bpd.
Before the war, Russia sold the EU about 4 million bpd. 2-3 million bpd of that is expected to not make it to market (anywhere) at the end of this year, as actual Government restrictions go into place there.
Russia (like Iran) will continue to find routes and middlemen to move some of its oil - but they will face increasing costs and logistical difficulties, and have to pay smuggler’s discounts.
Total Russian volume is going to continue to drop, as sanctions continue to ratchet (that was actually the point of the article - identifying where Russian oil is leaking through, to recommend new policies to shut off that route).
The rising price has substantially offset the lower volumes, in terms of total revenue, but when prices drop back down, it will be on much lower total volume of exports, with higher inherent market and transportation costs. There will be whack-a-mole as new routes are cracked down upon, but the easier to identify and control main routes will reduce total volumes significantly.
OPEC and OPEC+ this last week formally reallocated production quotas, to begin formally increasing non-Russian production, to balance global supply and demand. The additional increase in Saudi Arabia’s production will be about 3% of Russia’s exports, per month. The UAE and Iraq are expected to soon begin increasing their production as well.
They have only a fraction of the lifting costs to produce oil that Russian fields have, and are much closer by ship to Europe, than Russian exports are to India or China. They also enjoy the most favorable rates for financing, insurance and transaction costs - all of which will likely be targeted by sanctions against future Russian cargoes(some, like insurance, recently went into effect for future cargoes).
There are a lot of moving parts, but this is a seismic shift in the market, and Russia is losing a huge amount of future business.
Western media is beginning to shift on the war.
The Hill
Could Russia win a public relations war against the west?
Not Russia, but the United States becomes the most isolated country in the world - The Hill
Now The Hill writes that the US and its allies seem to be in a different position, struggling to find an acceptable compromise to end the sting operation.
First, foreign wars tend to boost ratings very well in the beginning, especially if they are effectively “advertised” by the media. But if they don’t end quickly enough and with a decisive victory at a reasonable cost, public support and political consensus start to play out completely in the opposite direction. Secondly, the economic war against Russia has done more damage to Western countries that have trusted the US.
“Restrictive measures cause more damage to the Western economy. The ruble reached a two-year high in May, and Russian energy and agricultural exports bring record earnings to Moscow ,” writes The Hill journalist Moloney.
Thirdly, the US failed to rally the whole world against Russia. Only 65 out of 195 countries joined the American sanctions - China, India, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia refused to participate in the economic war against Moscow.
“A striking example of the rejection of assumptions about US dominance was the recent G-20 summit meeting, when the US delegation refused to speak by the Russian delegate, and only 3 of 19 other delegations followed suit. All this suggests that it is not Russia that is the most isolated superpower in the world, but perhaps the United States itself, ” the article says.
Analyzing the development of events, the American journalist came to the conclusion that Putin’s policy is not so “shameful and inept” as it was actively promoted in the Western press.
A lot of these alternative shippers are getting shutdown.
June 1st - “The U.K. and EU have agreed a coordinated ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil, shutting Moscow out of the vital Lloyd’s of London insurance market and sharply curbing its ability to export crude, according to British and European officials.”
I’m under the impression that Russia has won the war, mainly because the west seems to be in “finger pointing”, trying to place blame for losing.
A sample of the stuff I’m getting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW96CGedmVQ