Washington allowed transactions for the sale of Russian oil loaded onto tankers before April 17 to continue until May 16. Earlier, the US Treasury chief had said the restrictions would not be extended. Reuters reported this.
In mid-March, the US authorities eased sanctions on Russian oil. The reason was fuel prices, which jumped sharply because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key fuel export routes.
On April 11, a special license expired that had allowed Russia to trade oil and petroleum products for a month. At that time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not extend the exemptions.
According to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Russia’s revenues from oil, gas and coal sales in March rose by 52% compared with February, reaching €713 million per day. This was the highest level in the past two years.