What happened
A ship carrying Russian diesel is scheduled to head for the US on Thursday, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who spoke to reporters on Wednesday and was cited by Tass. He said this marks the first shipment under the arrangement, with additional cargoes to come, noting, "The first tanker, as planned, will leave the port tomorrow," and, "More batches will follow."
Novak did not disclose the departure port, the supplier, or the vessel's name. He did specify the tanker's capacity at 40,000 metric tons, which is roughly 300,000 barrels.
The deal and the numbers
This move follows a call earlier this month in which Vladimir Putin agreed with Donald Trump to ease limits on diesel exports and push more supply to global buyers, including the US. Moscow committed to an initial tranche of 500,000 tons, without providing a specific delivery schedule.
Novak also said earlier this month that Russia intends to lift diesel exports gradually through November and December, targeting global shipments of up to 3.5 million tons per month before the year is over.
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Why this matters for your portfolio
With the Nov. 3 midterm elections just weeks away, Trump is seeking to lower diesel prices that are above $200 per barrel. But analysts argue the scale of the Putin - Trump arrangement is too small to shift prices in a meaningful way ahead of the vote, and lawmakers in both the US and Europe have pushed back, warning the deal would funnel more money to the Kremlin as it prosecutes its war in Ukraine.
Trump has said the fuel arrangement could help open a path to a Ukraine peace deal by keeping talks alive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Bloomberg that the US leader is seeking to pressure Kyiv to yield to Moscow. Meanwhile, on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was there for a meeting with Putin, after Zelenskyy met him in Oslo on Tuesday.
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