White House examining options for easing energy sanctions on Russia

There is a bit of a carrot-and-stick approach from the White House on Russian sanction today. Trump tweeted about raising Russian sanctions in order to get peace but now Reuters reports that they’re examining removing existing sanctions as an incentive to reach a deal.

The report says the White House has asked the Treasury to expore options for easing energy sanctions ahead of expected talks in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks. The report also says the Treasury is studying how removing Russian sanctions could change global oil trading patterns.

I would expect this headline to weigh on oil, and it’s down around 30-cents on this, but Russia has freely exported oil to China and elsewhere throughout the war via various means.

On the flipside of the oil trade, the US is set to order more US oil companies to stop operating in Venezuela.

Update: A separate report says Trump is weighing the oil price cap if Russian talks progress.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.