Last month, Russia's oil export revenue hit its highest since November 2022, as the country's oil prices surpassed the G7 ceiling.
Russia is benefiting from higher global prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported. The country earned $15.3 billion from exporting crude oil and oil products in July, up nearly 20% from the previous month. This was also an eight-month high.
Russian oil last month topped $60 a barrel, the price ceiling imposed by the G7 countries to squeeze Russia’s finances. IEA data shows that the average price of Russian seaborne oil exports rose by $8.84 to $64.41 a barrel last month.
However, compared to last year, oil export revenues are still down nearly 20%. This is the main source of revenue for the Russian budget, which is under pressure from the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions.
Russia's oil export revenue from January 2022 to July 2023. Chart: IEA, Bloomberg
The price gap between Russia's Urals crude and Brent has narrowed to just $4 a barrel. "This reflects tight supplies following OPEC+ cuts and rising refining demand following a period of plant maintenance," the IEA said.
Last month, Russian crude exports fell due to production curbs and increased supply to the domestic market. They fell by 200,000 barrels a day to 4.6 million barrels, the IEA said. The data also showed a slight decline in exports to China and India, which still account for 80% of Russia’s oil exports.
The increase in oil product exports more than offset the shortfall in crude oil. In total, Russia sold 7.3 million barrels of oil and oil products abroad, the same as in June, which was also the lowest level in a year.
The IEA estimates that Russia’s crude oil production in July was 9.4 million barrels a day, down 50,000 barrels from June. This means that they are still in compliance with the OPEC+ production reduction commitment. Russia recently announced that it would export an additional 500,000 barrels a day this month and 300,000 barrels a day next month.
Ha Thu (according to Bloomberg)
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