What the hell did the O'Biden-Harris administration do?
Seriously, who is pulling the strings that led to this result? It sure ain't President Biden AKA "Joey Mumbles."
From ZeroHedge:
Oil Soars To New 2023 High After Saudis, Russia Shock With Extended, Expanded Production Cut
Just days after we said that Saudi Aramco floating to sell up to $50 billion in new stock meant that oil is about to soar much higher...
... moments ago oil exploded higher after first Saudi Arabia and moments later Russia surprised markets by announcing that the recently implemented production cuts would be extended through year-end, well beyond the 1 month that was widely expected by the market.
Just after 9am ET, Saudi Arabia said it would extend the voluntary cut of 1 million b/d of for another 3 months, from October until the end of December, well beyond the expectation of just 1 more month. Saudi press agency SPA notes that the voluntary cut decision will be reviewed monthly to consider deepening the cut or increasing production. The extension of cuts is meant to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEO countries with the aim of supporting the stability of the oil market.
And then, literally seconds after the Saudi decision, Russian deputy PM Novak said Russia would not only extend its reduction of oil exports until the end of the year, but also add another 300kb/d in voluntary oil cuts until December 2023. The measure is in addition to voluntary reduction previously announced by Russia in April 2023, which will last until of December 2024.
Similar to the Saudis, Russia said that the decision to reduce oil production to be reviewed monthly to consider possibility of deepening reduction or increasing production depending on situation on the world market.
Following this announcement Brent Nov’23 lifted from USD 88.50 to above $90 for the first time in 2023, while WTI Oct’23 rose from USD 85.55/bbl to USD 87.00/bbl, also the highest price of the year, and about to crush the Fed's hopes for a decline in headline inflation.
Bottom line: we now know that a year and a half later, the OPEC+/BRIC+ reaction to Biden's weaponized dollar is weaponized oil; may the least hopeless man win....
After the Maidan coup in 2014 the U.S. military, spies and State Department had eight years to plan what they were going to do. This is proven by Merkel and Hollande's confessions that the Minsk Agreements were never meant to bring peace to eastern Ukraine but were instead an act of duplicity on the part of the West to buy time for Ukraine.
Eight years is a lot of "If this, then that."
Beyond destroying the U.S. relationship with the Saudi's, the U.S. opened the world's eyes to the risk of having treasury or central bank assets where they can be seized, and compounded the folly by driving the rest-of-world into accelerating the trend away from U.S. hegemony.
We are governed by idiots.
Or worse.
WTI futures $87.20 up $1.65; Brent up $1.25 at $90.25
