U.S. natural gas prices have skyrocketed nearly 150% this year while inventory levels have shrunk, signaling more consumer pain ahead of the summer season.
Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the Financial Times in an interview published on May 22 that he sees Russia as an integral part of the OPEC+ group of oil producers, adding that politics should be kept out of the alliance.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland struggled to explain administration energy policy when grilled by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers at a Senate hearing Thursday.
Germany’s decision to not immediately end Russian oil imports – a move that would deliver a crucial blow to the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine – came at the urgent request of the Biden administration, a senior European official involved in Russian sanctions tells Newsmax
Read more: Biden Admin. Pushed Germany to Delay Russian Oil Ban Until After Midterms | Newsmax.com
The United States has reportedly stopped asking Saudi Arabia to pump more oil to combat market disruption from Russia’s war with Ukraine as the relationship between the U.S. and the oil rich kingdom is said to have hit a new low.
The signals from bond markets are still relatively faint, as the more closely watched spread between the two-year yield and the 10-year has remained positive throughout Monday. Still, economists warned the market is signaling recession risk.
How much oil does Russia export?
Russia is the third biggest producer of oil in the world, behind the US and Saudi Arabia.
Of about five million barrels of crude oil it exports each day, more than half of that goes to Europe.
Russian imports account for 8% of total UK oil demand.
The US is less reliant, with about 3% of its imported oil coming from Russia in 2020.
President Biden is scrambling to contain soaring oil prices, which closed at more than $123 a barrel on Monday. It speaks volumes about this Administration that it’s seeking help from Vladimir Putin’s client in Venezuela and our estranged Saudi allies rather than U.S. shale producers or our Canadian friends.
Although Russian oil comprises about 3% of the crude the U.S. imports, prices are expected to climb even higher with similar bans announced in Europe. If the most dire predictions are correct, and the conflict is sustained, hold onto your wallets. Some experts see $6 a gallon coming.
The national average of a gallon of gas in the United States hit a record high on March 7 as prices soar amid the Russia–Ukraine war.
The average price nationwide hit $4.104 on Monday, breaking the record of $4.103 set in 2008, according to GasBuddy.
The record came after the national average spiked 49 cents in just one week, breaking the previous one-week spike set in 2005, the gas-tracking company said.
Hope is not a method
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