U.S. Hopes For Price Cap On Russian Oil By Year-End

The United States hopes that there will be an agreement on capping the price of Russian oil by December, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said at a security forum on Wednesday.

"Our goal is to make sure that as that insurance ban is going into place, we're in a position where there's a price cap that can be joined onto that that is a global one that helps to drive down global energy prices and also allows Russian energy to flow into the market place," Adeyemo told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, as carried by Reuters.

For weeks, the U.S. and partners have been discussing ideas to cut Putin's revenues, including banning all services enabling Russian oil shipments unless buyers pay for Russia's oil at or below a certain price.

"A price cap on Russian oil is one of our most powerful tools to address the pain that Americans and families across the world are feeling at the gas pump and the grocery store right now," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier this month at the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Bali, Indonesia. 

"A limit on the price of Russian oil would deny Putin revenue his war machine needs and would build on the historic sanctions we've already implemented to make it more difficult for him to wage his war or grow his economy," Secretary Yellen added.  

"It will also aid in maintaining the global supply of oil, helping put downward pressure on prices for consumers in America and globally at a time when energy prices are spiking," she noted.  

Yellen visited last week several Asian countries where she discussed a price cap on Russian oil, among other things.

After talks in Seoul, South Korea signaled earlier this week its support for the plans for a price cap on Russia's oil.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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