The price of Russian oil fell to $40 per barrel
This is the lowest price on record since spring 2020
On the Russian oil market, which has been under the European embargo since December, prices have fallen at the first New Year’s auctions.
Bloomberg writes about this with reference to data from the Argus price agency.
The price of Urals, the main brand of the Russian oil industry, which accounts for almost two-thirds of exports, fell below $40 per barrel on Friday, January 6.
Batches shipped from the port of Primorsk in the Baltic Sea cost $38.7 per barrel. This is the lowest price since spring 2020.
Since the beginning of the year, Urals has become cheaper by about 10%. Its current quotes are already twice as low as Brent ($78.57 on the same date) and a third below the price ceiling set by the G7 countries at $60 per barrel.
A key reason for the price decline is likely to be the loss of the European market, as Russia now depends on a tiny group of buyers, including China and India. And because tankers have to sail thousands of kilometers further to deliver cargo from western Russian ports to these buyers, the cost of shipping has skyrocketed. This forced to lower the price of Russian oil in order to compete with supplies from the Middle East, the publication writes.
It was previously reported that the oil revenues of the Russian budget fell sharply due to EU sanctions and embargoes.
