Russian Oil Price Cap Could be Announced Wednesday, Thursday

The G7 group is expected to announce the price cap on Russian crude oil exports soon, and the price level is expected to be adjusted several times a year, a US Treasury official said.

• “Our hope is they will finish that consultation relatively soon and put us in a position where our entire coalition can announce a price”, the official said.
• The announcement could be on Wednesday or Thursday, after a meeting of EU ambassadors.
• The coalition previously agreed on a fixed price, rather than a floating rate, discounted to an oil price index.
• The price level is expected to be adjusted regularly throughout the year, but not on a monthly basis.
• "Our goal is to revisit this on a regular basis, which from my standpoint, will look hopefully more like quarterly or even semi-annually because what we want to do is provide certainty to the marketplace."
• The US government does not expect Russia retaliate and withhold exports. “We have no reason to expect that they would do that, because, ultimately, it is not in their interest”, the official said.