Trump threatens new oil sanctions on Moscow after failed peace talks

US President Donald Trump has said that he is running out of patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To that end, he has threatened Moscow with new economic sanctions because peace talks with Ukraine have faltered.

In an interview, Trump said, “It’ll be hitting very hard on with sanctions to banks and having to do with oil and tariffs also.”

Trump’s statement comes after Russia said negotiations with Ukraine were on pause, even after Trump’s push following a meeting with Putin last month for direct talks between the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The next plan that Trump has to frustrate Putin is to urge allies in the Group of Seven to impose tariffs as high as 100% on China and India for their purchases of Russian oil. India is the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne oil, mostly shipped on tankers under sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and Britain.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Chris Wright went to Brussels for talks to finalize the terms of a deal that Trump and von der Leyen made for the EU to buy an extra $750 billion worth of gas, oil, and nuclear fuel from the US.

Oil price jumps 2% after drone attack

Ahead of Trump tariffs, the price of oil is up 2% after a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian port stopped loadings. This was more than enough to counteract worries about oversupply and lower US demand risks.

According to reports, oil loading operations had to stop overnight because of the drone attack on Primorsk, a port in the northwest of Russia that is one of the country’s biggest oil and fuel export hubs.

“Those attacks on Russian energy infrastructure have room to drag down Russian crude and refined product exports,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Also, SEB Research analyst Ole Hvalbye said, “Strong sanctions could potentially overshadow the underlying oversupply outlook.” 

Brent crude futures rose $1.02, or 1.5%, to $67.39 a barrel by 1328 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.08, or 1.7%, to $63.45. The standards for Brent and WTI both went down by 1.7% and 2%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency released its monthly report. It said that this year’s planned output increase by the OPEC group. It is made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners, such as Russia, which would cause the world’s oil supply to rise faster than expected.

On the supply side, Adani Group, India’s biggest private port operator, has said that it won’t let tankers from Western countries into any of its ports. This could cut off Russia’s oil supplies.

 US tariff earnings make up less than 10% in August

As the summer ended, President Trump’s tariffs continued to bring in billions of dollars for the US. In August, customs taxes brought in about $29.5 billion.

The latest monthly report from the US Treasury Department, which came out Thursday afternoon, showed the final numbers for the month. They confirmed another record after July’s total of $27.7 billion.

Since June’s total of $26.6 billion and May’s total of $22.2 billion, these new numbers are the most recent in a line of steps upward. With Tuesday’s report, the overall income for the fiscal year now stands at about $165.2 billion. The fiscal year for the government ends on September 30.

The news release from Tuesday also said that the government made more than $344 billion in August. This means that tariff earnings made up less than 10% of the total. However, the government spent even more money that month. That went over $689 billion, leaving a $345 billion gap every month.

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