On April 15, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced during a briefing with journalists that the recent easing of sanctions against Russian oil has stabilized the global fuel market.
In his remarks, Bessent described a hypothetical scenario where oil prices could have surged to $150 per barrel. “In such a world,” he explained, “Russians would have earned significantly more by selling barrels already loaded onto tankers. Those barrels were intended for China but we redirected them to our allies, helping stabilize the global price.”
Bessent also noted that without sanctions relief, oil prices could have reached as high as $250 per barrel.
