The White House disseminated an updated daily program of the President, which included an appearance by Biden at 10:45 a.m. (local time/4:45 p.m. CET). At the meeting, it was said that Biden would announce measures “to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine.” US media reported that the US is expected to ban imports of oil, gas and coal from Russia.
advertising
l, trade gold, all commodities with leverage (up to 30).
Trade commodities with high leverage and small spreads. You can start trading with as little as 100.00 to benefit from the effects of 3,000 euros of capital!
Note on Plus500: 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Plus500UK Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909). Plus500CY Ltd is authorized and regulated by CySEC (#250/14).
The US broadcaster CNN, citing government sources, reported that the US would carry out the new sanctions without their European allies. There is no consensus among Europeans as to whether they should ban Russian energy imports. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck warned on Tuesday of a sharp economic downturn in the event of an embargo on oil and gas from Russia. “We will then talk about a serious economic crisis in Germany and thus in Europe,” said the Green politician RTL/ntv. He emphasized that the situation is not comparable to that in the United States. “The Americans know that too.”
European countries like Germany are significantly more dependent on Russian energy imports than the USA. Last year, according to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), Russia was the third most important country for imports of crude and petroleum products to the US – behind Canada and Mexico. Imports from Russia, at 672,000 barrels (159 liters) per day, accounted for almost eight percent of all US imports in this category. According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the share of Russian imports in crude imports to Germany is around 35 percent.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday that discussions with allies in Europe about a ban on imports of oil from Russia are ongoing. However, she had also pointed out that the starting point in Europe was different.
Because of the war in Ukraine, pressure has also grown on the US administration from Congress to add a ban on imports of Russian oil to existing sanctions. However, the government is concerned about gasoline prices, which have been exacerbated by the war. Last Sunday, the national average price for a gallon (almost 3.8 liters) of regular gasoline rose to more than four dollars (3.68 euros) for the first time since 2008.
US media reported that the expected import ban would also extend to coal and gas from Russia. The US itself exports more coal than it imports. Only small quantities are imported from Russia and other countries. The USA also produces most of its gas itself, and Russia plays no role in imports.
In 2020, Germany was ranked 10th in terms of mineral oil consumption with 93.7 million tons, overall it was the sixth largest importer worldwide. It is already known that in 2021 more than a third of German imports came from Russia. In the previous year, Russia was the second largest oil exporter in the world: around 232 million tons corresponded to around two thirds of the amount sold internationally by the world market leader Saudi Arabia. A ton is roughly equivalent to seven barrels. However, the conversion for crude oil is not clear, as the density varies somewhat depending on the type of oil.
According to data from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Russia was in second place behind the USA (118 billion tons) in 2020 with almost 85 billion tons of global oil resources. In the production from 2015 to 2020, the United States had 17, 9 percent had the largest share, followed by Russia with 12.3 percent – ahead of the heavyweight Saudi Arabia (12.0 percent).
Habeck: US oil import ban coordinated with Europeans
According to Economics Minister Robert Habeck, the stop on oil imports from Russia planned by the US government has been coordinated with the Europeans.
But Germany will not follow suit and there are no corresponding demands from the USA either, said Habeck on Tuesday after a special call by the federal and state energy ministers. The situation for the USA as an oil producer is different from that for Europe. The sanctions against Russia should be as effective as possible, but this also means that they can be maintained for three years, emphasized the Green politician. However, for many years Germany had maneuvered itself into an energy dependency on Russia from which it had to get out as quickly as possible. Habeck called on the OPEC countries to increase their oil production volumes. This could relieve the world market and prevent a sharp rise in prices.
USA: Europe should shed its energy dependency on Russia
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Europe to reduce its energy dependence on Russia. “I think it’s not just a significant opportunity, it’s a necessity at this moment for many countries in Europe to finally get rid of their dependence on Russian energy. Because Russia is using it as a weapon,” Blinken said on Tuesday Visit to Estonia. There are already countries that are responding and making efforts. Blinken said in the Estonian capital of Tallinn that it was essential to make progress on renewable energies as quickly as possible.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had called for energy imports from Russia to be stopped because of the ongoing Russian attacks on his country. The federal government currently rejects such an embargo for Russian oil and gas.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also expressed reservations about an embargo after her meeting with Blinken. When asked about it, she pointed out that “different European countries depend to different degrees” on Russian gas and oil. “We need to have alternative sources of energy,” Kallas said. The actions of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin seem to persuade all countries to focus more on renewable energies. But this doesn’t happen overnight, she said.
(dpa-AFX / Reuters)
More news about the price of oil (Brent)
Image sources: Robert Lucian Crusitu / Shutterstock.com, Mindscape studio / Shutterstock.com