- Oil recovered some of the losses from last week to trade near $88/Bbl
- The U.S. Dollar weakened after a long period of relative strength against other major currencies
- Concerns remain about weaker demand as China's strict covid lockdowns persist
- The U.S. Treasury announced rough compliance guidelines for capping the price of Russian oil on Friday (BBG, Reuters)
- The guidelines focus on the documentation needed by the private sector to adhere to the program, which is meant to kick in from December as Europe starts to ban Russian crude
- Wally Adeyemo, the deputy secretary of the Treasury, said that Moscow would have no choice but to participate
- “Russia may bluster and say they won’t sell below the capped price, but the economics of holding back oil just doesn’t make sense,” said Adeyemo
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow would halt shipments to countries that impose the price cap
- Meanwhile, Janet Yellen, asked, “why should they retaliate for an initiative that enables their oil to continue to flow through to world markets at a price that is profitable?”
- It is still unclear when the price cap will be imposed and what level the price cap would be set at
- European nations said they have “serious doubts” about Iran’s commitment to a new nuclear accord after negotiations extending almost 18 months (BBG)
- In response to the most recent demands from Iran, the governments of France, Germany, and the UK released a joint statement on Saturday
- The European governments’ joint statement said, " In light of Iran’s failure to conclude the agreement on the table, we will consult with our international partners on how best to deal with Iran’s continued nuclear escalation”