Demand for coal remains high as countries around the world seek cheaper alternatives to expensive natural gas.
Coal exports by sea from Russia are close to their highest ever level after the European Union eased restrictions on shipping the commodity. Reported by Bloomberg.
Thus, in October 2022, Russia delivered 16.6 million tons of coal – slightly below the level in June, the highest level since at least 2017. Since then, exports have declined somewhat in line with the normal seasonal fluctuation.
Although Europe does not buy coal directly from Russia, European companies can supply it to third countries. Therefore, there is a sharp jump in the supply of Russian coal to Asian countries, which began immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is because the aggressor country has managed to redirect some of its European exports.
Demand for coal remains high as countries around the world seek cheaper alternatives to expensive natural gas. According to Bloomberg, Russia now supplies most of its coal to Turkey and China.
Recall that on December 5, Russia’s oil embargo on oil supplies to Europe began to work. The price of oil from the Russian Federation was limited to about $60 per barrel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not happy with the oil price peaking so low. According to his calculations, Russia will earn about 100 billion dollars in 1 year from oil sales.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is discussing a possible response to the ceiling price of Russian oil. According to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, three scenarios:
- a complete ban on the sale of oil to countries that maintain price ceilings, including intermediaries or chains,
- If a neutral country buys oil from the Russian Federation and the final buyer becomes a member of the G7, the delivery of petroleum products will be blocked,
- prohibition of export under contracts with the inclusion of a price ceiling condition, regardless of which country the source will be the buyer.
The third option involves the introduction of an indicative price by Russia – the maximum discount of Russian Ural oil to the Brent reference grade.
Source: Focus
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