Russian oil most discounted since 2023 on western sanctions

The cut-priced barrels show the impact that western sanctions — particularly ones imposed by the US late last year — have had on Moscow

• Russia's Urals crude trades at $30 below Brent, lowest since 2023
• Western sanctions and tariffs cut Russia's oil income sharply
• EU caps services for Russian oil over $44.10/barrel

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Russia’s flagship crude is selling at the deepest discount in the international marketplace in almost three years as western sanctions deter trade with Moscow.

The average discount of Urals oil from the country’s western ports ballooned to $30.62 below the global benchmark Dated Brent on Friday, according to data from Argus Media. That’s the widest discount since April 2023. The grade is now trading at just above $40 a barrel at the point of export.

The cut-priced barrels show the impact that western sanctions — particularly ones imposed by the US late last year — have had on Moscow. It’s unclear how US President Donald Trump’s proposed 15% global tariffs, announce

Still, the lower price means less income, reducing how much amount of tax the nation’s oil companies pay into the Kremlin’s coffers.

Urals at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk traded at $42.09 on Friday, while the grade at Novorossiysk in the Black Sea slumped to $40.44, the Argus data show. That’s much lower than the government assumed when planned nation’s budget for this year and anticipated it would average of $59 a barrel in 2026.

By the time Urals reaches India, the discount to Brent shrinks to over $12 a barrel, according to Argus Media. That’s still the widest gap since April 2023 but it’s not clear whether the so-called delivery spread — the big gap between export and delivered prices — ends up in Russian hands.

Last year, the US doubled tariffs to 50% on India for purchasing Urals and then blacklisted Russia’s two biggest oil producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC.

The US leader had already eliminated an extra 25% tariff he had imposed on Indian goods over the country’s purchases of Russian oil, the first step to cement the terms of a trade deal the two nations announced.

A US court ruled on Friday that Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose duties was illegal.

The UK and European Union also imposed a lower price cap on Russian oil, a measure that took effect Feb. 1. Under the rules, the continent’s companies can only provide services like shipping and insurance for Russian oil if the it costs less than $44.10 a barrel.