Russian Oil Prices to Be Capped at Half of Current Levels: Kishida

Tokyo, July 3 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday that under a Group of Seven-proposed price cap mechanism for imports of Russian oil, the upper limit is expected to be set at a level about a half of the current import prices. The mechanism, mulled by the G-7 major powers as part of their sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, is intended to bring down Russia's resources for spending for the war. In a stump speech in Tokyo, Kishida said, "We'll create a mechanism in which the international community will not buy Russian oil at prices higher than the upper limit." Partly due to sanctions imposed on Russia by the G-7, which groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union, energy prices have been soaring across the world. As a result, even though the volume of Russia's oil exports has dropped, the country's related revenue is said not to have decreased. One analysis says Russia's average energy export price has climbed about 60 pct year on year. END