"Inadvertently":
U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions against Iran and Venezuela have inadvertently increased demand for a Russian brand of crude oil, boosting revenues for the nation’s exporters.
Russian oil companies received at least $905 million in additional revenues between November and July, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The calculation is based on difference between the Urals spread to the Brent benchmark over the period compared to the five-year average.
The sanctions added to a jump in demand for Russian crude in the wake of output cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their partners. As a result, Russia’s Urals blend of crude has started to regularly trade at a premium to Brent.
We doubt it was "inadvertent" for nitwit bumbler Donald "Rump" Trump's handler in Moscow, who is doubtless delighting in how the useful idiot is lining his pockets by steering business to Mother Russia. Thug kleptocrat Putin is also sending Russian warships into the Caribbean, just as an additional "FU" to show who's really in charge in the relationship:“There is a shortage of competing heavier, sourer crude right now as a result of sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, but also because of OPEC+’s current production cut agreement,” Konstantsa Rangelova, analyst at JBC Energy, said by email. “Urals in the Mediterranean is at an all-time high.” (our emphasis)
The Russian military has signed a deal that would allow it to send military ships to Venezuela, expressing support for the Latin American country. The U.S. has been critical of current Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and has backed attempts to replace him.Trump (code name: Kompromat) may be the most dangerous and incompetent person ever to occupy the White (Supremacist) House, but he sure is good at doing what's best for Putin.
