US Treasury Secretary Yellen spoke in an interview with the Wall Street Journal (gated).
- “We are looking at enforcement very carefully and we want to make sure that market participants are aware we take this price cap seriously, and, to the extent Western services are used, we mean business about abiding by the cap,”
- Yellen didn’t describe any specific enforcement actions.
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The price cap Yellen is referring to functions by requiring Western firms that handle, trade or insure Russian oil to only do so if the oil is sold at or below the capped price —or face the threat of penalties from the US and its allies.
With oil on global markets trading well above that level the old adage of “where there is an arbitrage there is a way of realising it” is in play, with plenty of work arounds having ensured a steady supply of Russian oil trading above the cap.