The G7, the European Union and Australia imposed the $60 per barrel cap last December on sea-borne exports of Russian crude in retaliation for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

According to price reporting agency Argus Media, Urals crude topped $60 a barrel on Wednesday, climbing above the cap that the Group of Seven set last year in an attempt to restrict revenue to Moscow’s war machine.

The central bank still expects a current account surplus of $47 billion this year and $38 billion in 2024. On Tuesday, it said in a statement that Russia’s worsening trade balance was caused by a decrease in export volumes as well as the decline in prices mainly for energy exports.

Неопределённость, настигшая мировой энергетический рынок в последние несколько лет, связанная сначала с пандемией коронавируса, а потом и с искусственными ограничениями, наложенными на российские энергоресурсы, в дальнейшем будет лишь увеличиваться

Russia has taken control of other energy assets owned by Western investors since the war started.

Bangladesh is to make its payments to Russia for the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction in Chinese yuan as a result of sanctions stopping payments in US dollars.

Annual inflation in Russia slowed to 3.51% in March 2023 from 10.99% in February, reaching its lowest level since July 2020.

Urals, Russia’s main crude export blend, has traded at a significant discount to the Brent benchmark since the European Union banned almost all seaborne imports of oil and petroleum products from the country, and the Group of Seven industrialized nations imposed a price cap.

Hungary has said it intends to press ahead with its plans for a new Russian-built nuclear power plant at Paks II, despite the Russian war with Ukraine and the European Union (EU) imposition of a range of sanctions against Russia.

Since Turkey can legitimately still import diesel-type fuel from Russia, traders can potentially bring in relatively cheap barrels to meet the country’s energy needs. At the same time, Turkey’s own production could be sold at a higher price to the EU.

The EU says its sanctions are meant to cut Moscow revenues and access to technology used in war.

Germany suffered the most among EU member states from the Russian supply curtailments, with a number of buyers forced to buy expensive gas on the open market to make up for the Russian shortfall.

Энергетический сектор по-прежнему сталкивается с новыми вызовами, и нынешняя геополитическая ситуация негативно сказывается на мировых энергетических рынках.

Prior to the sanctions, between October 2021 and September 2022, diesel imports from Russia made up 53% of Northwest Europe’s seaborne imports.

The EU banned imports of Russian oil products from Feb. 5, two months after imposing restrictions on seaborne crude shipments from the country.