Biden bans Russian oil while Europe holds still

News of the day, Wednesday, March 9

US President Joe Biden has imposed a ban on Russian oil and gas imports as a part of sanctions after the Ukraine invasion. He made this decision despite possible voters' criticism over increasing gasoline prices.

“We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable in U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war machine.”

The USA has consulted with European allies about the ban but didn’t expect them to join it since European countries are far more dependent on Russian energy sources. Nevertheless, the United Kingdom has announced to get rid of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022. As we mentioned on Monday, such measures may lead to crude prices increasing up to $200 this year. A rise like this will affect consumers’ petroleum prices. It is already visible: retail gasoline prices in the USA reached an all-time record of $4.173 per gallon on Tuesday.

The price of Brent crude is $130.00, WTI — $124.50, GBP/USD — 1.3143, EUR/USD — 1.0954, and gold costs $2044.00 per ounce.