
Donald Trump hopes that his deal with Vladimir Putin will bring down diesel prices before the midterms. Now a ship flying the Maltese flag is apparently transporting the first tons of fuel to the USA.
AI-generated summary
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reached an agreement to reduce diesel prices in the US ahead of the midterms.
A tanker loaded with 40,000 tons of Russian diesel is apparently on its way to New York. This emerged on Friday from shipping data from the financial services provider LSEG, as reported by the Reuters news agency.
The delivery is part of an agreement between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump hopes to use several measures to reduce diesel prices before the US midterm elections on November 3rd. This also includes the suspension of parts of a new sanctions law against Russia.
According to shipping data, the Maltese-flagged tanker "Agioi Fanendes" was loaded with low-sulfur diesel in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk on October 22nd. It is scheduled to arrive in the US on November 7th.
Russia had agreed to lift a self-imposed export ban on diesel in order to return the fuel to global markets. Trump announced on October 9 that Russia would initially export 300,000 tons or 2.25 million barrels. This is to be followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and one million tonnes “immediately afterwards”.
In fact, the initially planned 300,000 tons and then 500,000 tons in November are extremely small for the world market given the total demand in the USA alone. According to the Energy Information Authority EIA, this is 2.94 million tonnes per day in the transport sector alone. For comparison: In one day alone, that is more than three times as much as Russia wants to deliver to the global market in these two months, according to Trump.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that Russia could increase its diesel exports to the usual volume of three to three and a half million tons per month by the end of the year. Since the full EU embargo on Russian oil products came into force in February 2023 due to the war in Ukraine, Russia has exported diesel mainly to Brazil, Turkey and African countries.
Donald Trump makes a pact with the Kremlin before the midterms. Diesel from Russia is intended to appease the electorate. Read here why experts view the agreement with skepticism.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Arrival of the tanker “Agioi Fanendes” in the USA
Very likely · Within days

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