'We have to stay together': Biden on alliance behind Ukraine

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ZEKE MILLER and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

ELMAU, Germany (AP) — President Joe Biden on Sunday praised the continued unity of the global alliance confronting Russia, as he and other heads of the Group of Seven leading economies strategized on sustaining the pressure in their effort to isolate Moscow over its months-long invasion of Ukraine.

Biden and his counterparts were meeting to discuss how to secure energy supplies and tackle inflation, aiming to keep fallout from the war from splintering the global coalition working to punish Moscow. They were set to announce new bans on imports of Russian gold, the latest in a series of sanctions the club of democracies hopes will further isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine.

Leaders also were coming together in a new global infrastructure partnership meant to provide an alternative to Russian and Chinese investment in the developing world.

“We’ve got to make sure we have us all staying together,” Biden said during a pre-summit sit-down with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who holds the G-7′s rotating presidency and is hosting the gathering. “You know, we’re gonna continue working on economic challenges that we face but I think we get through all this.”



President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speak during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in Elmau, Germany, Sunday, June 26, 2022. Biden is in Germany to attend the Group of Seven summit of leaders of the world's major industrialized nations. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-g-7-summit-inflation-biden-moscow-8ec2d58070215ec8393b25e4109eac97

[pressbox69]

1. American Woman

should be inspired by the Ukraine resistance of Putin's savage onslaught while they resist the onslaught of the Republiklan Right and the SCOTUS from Hell.

[TigressDem]

2. Other pictures of Scholz say that he is ALMOST relaxed and smiling with Biden

Actual Scholz smile

?v=1638974507&w=929&h=523&ffmt=webp





AND DON'T YOU EVER KISS ME ON THE CHEEK AGAIN YOU P***Y GRABBING GEEZER

?quality=85

[OneCrazyDiamond]

3. We are being undermined by capitalism.

China and India have been buying at a 30 percent discount to the global benchmark price, a boon to both economies in a world buffeted by rising inflation. Despite the discounts, Russia's oil revenues are growing, since prices have climbed to more than $100 a barrel

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/business/russia-oil-china-india-ukraine-war.html

[pressbox69]

4. We

have always been and always will be undermined by capitalism.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

5. Ironically

Those 3 have strong connections to flavors of socialism.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. But here's the kicker, and it only comes at the very end of the linked article

and was something I had been thinking about a couple days ago when I saw that India had made that sudden switch after having purchased very little oil from Russia in the past, and what might happen as the fallout from their doing that -

(snip)

With robust refining capacity of five million barrels of fuel a day, India could absorb an additional 350,000 barrels of Russian oil, or roughly a third more than it is currently importing, according to energy experts. India has already stopped buying oil from Mexico, slashed purchases from Nigeria and pulled back from Saudi Arabia and the United States. “A new alignment of world politics is unfolding across the globe that is being drawn with oil and gas,” said Daniel Yergin, author of “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations.” “And China and India are very much at the center of it.”

The Russian oil gradually flowing into Asia is replacing Saudi and other Middle Eastern oil, which is now finding its way to Europe. The shift is creating heightened competition among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, with Iraq slashing prices to Europe.

Saudi Arabia and its gulf allies have viewed Asia as their growth market, and suddenly they are finding themselves elbowed aside. Russia and Saudi Arabia, the main players of OPEC Plus, the expanded version of the cartel, have worked together to control supplies and bolster prices in recent years. Russia may need to be careful not to depend on Asia too much, though its options are limited.

“Russian displacement of Saudi crude in the Chinese economy could create strains in OPEC Plus,” said Meghan L. O’Sullivan, director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School and a former aide to President George W. Bush, “making the Saudis more willing to take steps that would harm Russian interests, and bring down the global price further.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/24/business/russia-oil-china-india-ukraine-war.html

I.e., Saudi just lost a significant chunk of their market share selling to China and India, to Russia.

When the two of them were battling it out in March/April 2020, they depressed the price by seeing who could produce the most and literally glutted the market, which caused the price/bbl to collapse far below $0.

This time, rather than out-producing, one side is "artificially" charging less, and has gained buyers while Saudi has lost them.



(above from here - https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/SAU)

It's like that one gas station in a town where the prices are running at $4/gal, decides to sell at $1/gal, and everyone runs to buy gas from them and the other stations have little or no sales. One might end up doing that at a loss initially because of what they paid for it wholesale, but they are still getting some revenue in while the other is getting $0.

In an article from 2020, there was this interesting tidbit about OPEC+ at the time (which is right when they were engaging in the production/price war) -

Oil market outlook June 11, 2020
The global oil market’s new, strange alliance

(snip)



(snip)

Economically speaking, Russia is better positioned than Saudi Arabia to cope with lower oil prices. In March, its finance minister stated that the country could handle oil prices of $25-$30 per barrel for six to 10 years. After the West imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea, and the subsequent collapse in oil prices in 2014, Moscow implemented several economic reforms. It devalued the ruble and adopted a flexible exchange rate to better shelter its economy from oil price fluctuations.

Russia’s fiscal breakeven oil price – the price needed to balance the budget – dropped from almost $100 per barrel in 2014 to a little above $42 per barrel. Extra oil revenue that came in when oil prices rose above that level were used to replenish the National Wealth Fund. Analysts believe the fund can cover a shortfall in income from lower oil prices for more than five years.

Although Saudi Arabia announced a major economic reform agenda in 2016 called Saudi Vision 2030, progress has come at a snail’s pace. The substantial economic dependence on oil revenues continues to be the kingdom’s Achilles’ heel, keeping it from becoming the low-cost producer that can sustain low oil prices the longest.

While Saudi Arabia managed to reduce its fiscal breakeven oil price from more than $90 in 2014, it is still at nearly $80, well above current market prices.

https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/opec-alliance/

From what I recall seeing back then, the frackers here in the U.S. had a breakeven of around $55/bbl.

So something's gotta give...

(Imma keep blaming you guys for me looking up this stuff and then finding some info!!!!! )

[blue-wave]

6. Thank you President Biden

for leading the free world while we battle the forces of tyranny.