Oil Still Expensive As Hell, Even After Trump's Dirty Russian Oil Deal

Countries releasing more of their oil reserves and states suspending their gas taxes may have helped lower fuel prices, but if you live in one of the dozen or so states where gas has dropped below $4 a gallon, don't get too excited. Once a governor suspends their state's gas tax, they can't double-suspend it. The bigger problem is that an increase in attacks on oil tankers is keeping oil prices high, even pushing West Texas Intermediate over $100 a barrel and causing Brent Crude to hit a five-month high, CNBC reports. 

At the time of writing, oil prices appear to be trending down from their peaks over the last couple of days, but both Brent Crude and WTI briefly crossed $110 as traders reckoned with Iran's threats to continue striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. CNBC reports that at least 18 tankers transiting Hormuz have been attacked over the last two weeks, and today, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed two "non-compliant" vessels hit mines and caught fire as they attempted to navigate the strait. 

The Wall Street Journal also reports that Saudi Arabia's inability to fend off Houthi rebel attacks has only added to the challenges Middle Eastern oil exporters face in the region:

Just as the U.S. has struggled to defeat a seemingly overmatched Iran, the Houthis have built a fleet of mobile missile launchers and deeply buried missile-production facilities that it has used to withstand airstrikes from its much larger neighbor.

The Iran-backed Houthis are likely to be able to absorb attacks from the Saudi-led coalition fighting them, while continuing to deliver blows deep in Saudi territory against softly defended targets, analysts said.

Saudi authorities said Sunday that a hostile projectile struck the southern city of Najran, injuring six. The incident also damaged three homes and three vehicles. That attack came a week after a Houthi strike on the Saudi capital's international airport killed at least 13 people and injured hundreds. It was the single deadliest attack on the U.S. or its Gulf allies in the conflicts related to the Iran war. Another strike on the airport the following day killed another traveler and wounded 11.

With Iran seemingly committed to dragging out negotiations past the midterms, Republican politicians have been growing increasingly desperate to find any lever they can pull that might lower fuel prices. But they probably weren't expecting Trump to waive sanctions on Russian oil, a move that CNBC reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sees as a betrayal. As he should. Trump waiving sanctions on Russian oil will directly fund Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy isn't the only politician upset that Trump would sell out Ukraine to side with Russia. On Twitter, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal said:

Donald Trump confirms again that he stands on the side of a bloodthirsty thug & the enablers of Russia's war machine & against the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, & our European allies.

These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, & everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin. I hope my Republican colleagues will join me in condemning this craven, cowardly action.

It's not just Democrats who are upset Trump would ally himself with Putin like that. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis tweeted:

Beyond irresponsible. What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand? It's unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day. If the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, Texas Senator John Cornyn said:

Helping Putin in Ukraine is reckless. He would not stop with Ukraine and our NATO allies would be next. Putin is fanatically committed to restoring Russia's glory days, calling the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" and claiming Russia was "robbed" in the breakup. 

So we've sold out an ally to help Russia, of all countries, we're no closer to winning the war with Iran than we were before Trump betrayed Ukraine, and oil's still expensive. Wonderful.