Home › Security › Did the oil price cap curb Russia's export income?
Did the oil price cap curb Russia's export income?
Summary
A look back at a December 2023 report that Russia's oil earnings had risen above their pre-war level despite the G7 price cap.
Had the G7's price cap on Russian oil reduced Moscow's income from crude? On 7 December 2023, the figures reported the previous day suggested a difficult answer for sanctions backers.
As reported on 6 December 2023, Russia earned $11.3 billion from oil exports in October. That was more than it earned before the start of the war.
The cap was agreed on 2 September 2022 by G7 finance ministers. It was meant to reduce Russia's ability to finance its war on Ukraine. The ministers also hoped it would curb further increases in prices during the 2021–2022 inflation surge.
The October figure placed the policy's first aim under scrutiny. Export revenue had risen past its pre-invasion level, even as the sanctions regime remained in place.
