Russia is threatening to send the price of oil through the roof if the West cuts off Russian oil imports in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“It is absolutely clear that a rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. “The surge in prices would be unpredictable. It would be $300 per barrel if not more.”
“So far, we are not taking such a decision,” Novak said. “But European politicians with their statements and accusations against Russia push us towards that.”
Novak added that European politicians needed to “honestly warn their citizens and consumers what to expect” and that if they decided to reject Russian energy products that Russia was ready to “redirect” the commodities to other places.
The news comes as Democrat President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Tuesday that the U.S. will ban the importation of Russian oil, which comes after days of criticism from opponents and some in the legacy media.
“Biden plans to ban the importation of Russian oil into the United States, a significant escalation in economic penalties for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but a move that could also further rattle global energy markets and raise gas prices,” The New York Times reported. “Biden’s announcement, scheduled for Tuesday, comes as the Ukrainian military and civilian soldiers continued to bog down Russian forces, protecting the borders of key cities and inflicting heavy losses against the larger and better equipped Russian army.”
The national average price of gasoline set a new all-time record on Monday, blowing past the previous record that was set more than a decade ago in 2008.
“The national average price of gasoline in the U.S. today broke the existing record, rewriting the all-time high to today’s $4.104 per gallon,” GasBuddy reported. “The previous all-time high was set back in 2008 at $4.103 per gallon, just ahead of the U.S. Great Recession and housing crisis.”
GasBuddy, a platform that collects data on fuel prices to save consumers money, added that the price of diesel was “likely to break the record of $4.846 per gallon in the next two weeks.”
“In addition to setting a new all-time high, the national average is seeing its largest ever 7 day spike: 49.1 cents per gallon, eclipsing the 49.0 cent weekly rise after Hurricane Katrina in 2005,” the company’s statement continued. “On Saturday, the U.S. national average gas price surpassed $4 per gallon for the first time since 2008, and Friday’s spike alone came close to the record daily rise of 18 cents per gallon, increasing nearly 16 cents per gallon in one day. Diesel prices, however, did break records on Friday, as diesel soared to its largest daily gain ever: 22.2 cents per gallon, 6 cents higher than the previous record from 2013.”
AAA reported on Tuesday morning that the national average price for gas had risen to $4.173 per gallon.