Clara Ferreira Marques, Columnist

Putin's Oil Price Gambit Has Run Out of Road

Russia was happy to take the pain of lower oil prices in its fight with U.S. shale producers. But that was before Covid-19 changed the game.

April 7, 2020 at 9:27 AM UTC

By Clara Ferreira Marques

Clara Ferreira Marques is a managing editor for Commodities and Energy in Asia. Previously, she was a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and editorial board member.

How to save face?
Photographer: ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

In the eyes of Moscow hardliners, the shale boom that turned the U.S. into a leading oil exporter has also encouraged Washington’s belligerence. Back in early March, low prices were a welcome means of pushing American producers over the edge; Russia’s bolstered state finances and its lower-cost oil companies meant it could take the pain.

But that was then.