{UAH} SERIOUS NUMBERS THAT ALLAN BARIGYE THE FORUM BULLY IGNORES ->An effort to dump as many numbers in the Bully's face as we possibly can so that it learns that it can discuss with facts and numbers than being a firkin Bully

Saudi Arabia buying up millions of barrels of Russian diesel – data

Meanwhile, supplies of the fuel from Riyadh are being sent to the EU

© Getty Images / primeimages

Saudi Arabia imported 174,000 barrels of diesel and gasoil a day from Russia in April, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing data from analytics firm Kpler.

Thу figure comes in contrast to 137,700 barrels per day recorded in the previous month. Imports kept rising in May, and amounted to 191,200 barrels a day in the first two weeks of the month alone, marking a record high since 2017.

At the same time, the Middle East nation emerged as the European Union's number one supplier, leapfrogging Russia since February. The kingdom, however, is reportedly not reselling the diesel and gasoil that it receives from Russia, as such a move would be considered a breach of sanctions imposed by the bloc on Moscow over its military operation in Ukraine.   

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, the latest upsurge in production at the kingdom's refineries was responsible for the increase in imports to the EU.

The unnamed sources also told the news agency that additional exported fuels, which came from different parts of the country, were made to different specifications and were often subject to long-term supply commitments

The data tracked by Kpler also shows that Saudi Arabia outpaced the US to become the world's second-biggest exporter of diesel and gasoil last month. Nearly 35% of the kingdom's overall April exports were reportedly shipped to EU member states and the UK. Meanwhile, sanctions-hit Russia remains the number one seller of the fuel.

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Russian fuel oil exports to China to hit record high – Bloomberg

Smaller Chinese refineries have hiked import volumes used for blending, the agency reports

© Getty Images / VCG / Contributor

Supplies of fuel oil from Russia to China are expected to reach an all-time high of 350,000 barrels in May, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing Kpler ship-tracking data.

According to the agency, smaller Chinese refineries have boosted purchases of fuel oil, which is commonly used for blending and is a less valuable part of the barrel than gasoline and diesel.

Supplies of Russian fuel oil to China saw an upsurge after February, when a price cap on Russian petroleum products adopted by the EU and G7 came into force. 

According to Bloomberg, flows have soared over the past several months as Shandong province, home to most of China's independent refineries, launched quality checks on bitumen mixtures, another favorite feedstock. 

"We anticipate that fuel oil inflows to China will remain high in May and will increase further from June," Jianan Sun, a London-based analyst with Energy Aspects, told the agency.

READ MORE: Russia to boost gas supply to China – official

In January, China issued a lower crude import quota in the first two batches of 2023 compared with last year, meaning that refineries must rely on other feedstocks such as fuel oil for their processing needs. For 2023, the allocation is steady at 16.2 million tons, of which over half could already have been used up by the end of April, Sun said.

Oil demand from the world's second biggest consumer is expected to increase during the current quarter as Covid infections trend downwards in China's biggest cities, sending mobility to normal levels.

According to Sun, Russian refiners are projected to boost supplies of high-sulfur straight-run fuel oil and distillate-rich M100 grades to Asia by as much as 140,000 barrels a day in the coming weeks.

Kpler analyst Viktor Katona told Bloomberg that Russia currently supplies up to 40% of all fuel oil imported by China

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Russia to boost gas supply to China – official

Supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline will grow by 50% this year, Deputy PM Novak has announced

©  Getty Images / bjdlzx

Russia will increase natural gas exports to China by nearly 50% this year, as Moscow is steering towards greater energy cooperation with Beijing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Sunday.

In an interview with the Russia-1 TV channel, Novak declared that last year Moscow supplied 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to China and pledged to increase deliveries to 22 bcm this year. Novak also announced that, in the next two years, supplies via the Power of Siberia gas pipeline would reach their full capacity of 38 bcm annually.

China currently gets most of its Russian gas through this mega pipeline, which is a section of the so-called Eastern Route. It was partially launched in December 2019, becoming the first pipeline to supply Russian gas to China. The Eastern Route includes the 3,000km-long Power of Siberia pipeline in Russia and a section in China that extends to 5,111km.

The Power of Siberia is part of a $400 billion, 30-year agreement between Russia's Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation, which was inked in May 2014.

In February, Moscow and Beijing signed an agreement for additional natural gas supplies to China via the Eastern Route. The countries are now working on the Power of Siberia 2 energy project, which involves the construction of a gas pipeline to China through the territory of Mongolia.

Novak also noted that Moscow has abandoned the US dollar and euro in energy trade with Beijing, with most settlements for oil, gas and other resources conducted in Chinese yuan and Russian rubles.

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Russia completely abandons dollar, euro in energy trade – deputy PM

Most settlements for oil, gas and other resources are already made in national currencies

© Getty Images / Glowimages

Russia is switching to national currencies in energy trade with foreign partners, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday in an interview with the Russia-1 TV channel.

According to the official, most transactions are already made in these currencies, mostly in Chinese yuan and Russian rubles, and in the future Moscow intends to abandon the euro and dollar in energy exports altogether.

"The trends have changed greatly toward reducing the use of dollars and euros. Considering the current problems with these currencies, in our settlements we are switching almost exclusively to national currencies," he said, referring to economic restrictions placed on Russia by Western states due to the Ukraine conflict, which have effectively made it impossible for Russia to conduct transactions in euros and dollars.

"Our partners in China are already paying for gas in yuan, as well as partly for oil. They also pay in rubles. We will continue to improve these mutual settlements in national currencies," Novak pledged.

The deputy premier said that in order to meet strong demand for Russian energy, settlement mechanisms are needed "which can only be in national currencies under the current circumstances."

In an earlier interview with TASS news agency, Novak predicted that the share of transactions in national currencies will continue to grow in the coming years.

Russia significantly increased the use of national currencies in trade last year, moving away from the euro and dollar in transactions with foreign partners as these currencies were deemed "unreliable" due to sanctions.

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Dollar losing reserve status at 'stunning' pace – Eurizon CEO

The US currency's share of global reserves fell ten times faster in the last year than in the previous 20, Stephen Jen has said

©  Getty Images/FrankvandenBergh

Western sanctions against Russia have accelerated the move away from the US dollar worldwide, Stephen Jen, the CEO of London-based asset management company Eurizon, warned on Tuesday.

The dollar's share in global reserves fell ten times faster last year than over the past two decades, Jen said, as cited by Bloomberg. The process began as some countries started to look for alternatives after seeing Russia's assets frozen abroad and the country cut off from the global financial messaging system known as SWIFT, according to Jen.

Adjusting for "wild" exchange rate fluctuations last year, the dollar has lost roughly 11% of its market share since 2016 and double that amount since 2008, Jen and his Eurizon colleague Joana Freire wrote in a note.

"The dollar suffered a stunning collapse in 2022 in its market share as a reserve currency, presumably due to its muscular use of sanctions," the note reads. "Exceptional actions taken by the US and its allies against Russia have startled large reserve-holding countries," most of which are emerging economies, Jen and Freire explained. 

READ MORE: China and Brazil deal a blow to US dollar-powered bullying

The greenback now represents about 58% of total global reserves, down from 73% in 2001 when it was the "indisputable hegemonic reserve," the experts said.

China and India are working to use their own currencies to settle international trade, while Russia started to accept payments for its exports from a number of countries in rubles and Chinese yuan.

Earlier this week, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on developing nations to move away from the US dollar in favor of their own currencies.

Following Lula's comments, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen admitted that the role of the dollar as the world reserve currency could diminish due to Washington using its leverage over the global financial system to pursue its geopolitical goals through sanctions.

EM         -> {   Gap   at   46  } – {Allan Barigye is a Rwandan predator}

On the 49th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko