But Russia’s oil and gas exports have continued to Europe as well as to China and India. Those exports have acted as an economic floor for the Russian economy, which is dominated by the energy sector. In the European Union, a dependence on Russian gas for electricity and heating has made it significantly more difficult to turn off the spigot, which the Biden administration did when it banned the relatively small amount of petroleum that the U.S. imports from Russia.

“The U.S. has already banned imports of Russian oil and natural gas, and the United Kingdom will phase them out by the end of this year. However, these decisions will not have a meaningful impact unless and until the EU follows suit,” wrote Benjamin Hilgenstock and Elina Ribakova, economists with the Institute of International Finance, in a report released Wednesday.

Hilgenstock and Ribakova estimate that if the EU, Britain and the U.S. were to ban Russian oil and gas, the Russian economy could contract more than 20% this year. That's compared with projections for up to a 15% contraction, as sanctions stand now.

Knowing this, Putin has greatly leveraged Europe’s dependence on its energy exports to its advantage. Putin has called for Russia’s Central Bank to force foreign gas importers to purchase rubles and use them to pay state-owned gas supplier Gazprom. It’s unclear whether Putin can make good on his threat.

The White House and economists have argued that the impact of sanctions takes time, weeks or months for full effect as industries shut down due to a lack of materials or capital or both. But the administration's critics say the ruble's recovery shows the White House needs to do more.

“The ruble’s rebound would seem to indicate that U.S. sanctions haven’t effectively crippled Russia’s economy, which is the price Putin should have to pay for his war," said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

“To give Ukraine a fighting chance, the U.S. must sever Putin’s revenue stream by cutting off Russian oil and gas sales globally," Toomey said in an email to The Associated Press.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, said Wednesday that lawmakers are considering ways to expand the sanctions Biden recently imposed on members of the Russian parliament “and probably widen that to other political players.” Brown, D-Ohio, said lawmakers also are weighing more penalties against banks.

Western leaders, under Biden's encouragement, embraced sanctions as their toughest weapon to try to compel Russia to reverse its invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO and not protected under that bloc's mutual defense policy.

Some of the allies now acknowledge their governments may need to redouble financial punishment against Russia.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that the Group of Seven major industrial nations should “intensify sanctions with a rolling program until every single one of (Putin's) troops is out of Ukraine.”

But that's a tougher ask for other European countries such as Germany, which depend on Russia for vital natural gas and oil. The EU overall gets 10% of its oil from Russia and more than one-third of its natural gas.

Many of those countries have pledged to wean themselves off that dependence — but not immediately.

If European nations did move more quickly off Russian petroleum, wrote analyst Charles Lichfield of the Atlantic Council, “a more comprehensive embargo from Europe would threaten Russia’s current account surplus — suddenly making it more difficult to pay public-sector salaries and wage war.”

He noted that “such an outcome may be beyond the reach of Western consensus.”

—-

Sweet reported from New York. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

Currency can be manipulated especially if government is not transparency. Russia is importing less and exporting more due to sanctions. Nigeria should adopt similar approach. It is good for developing country to grow her economy but it may be self -destructive for a world power like Russia.

joyandfaith:
Currency can be manipulated especially if government is not transparency. Russia is importing less and exporting more due to sanctions. Nigeria should adopt similar approach. It is good for developing country to grow her economy but it may be self -destructive for a world power like Russia.

Nigeria has done this severally, but the reverse has been the case for us, example we banned exporting of agro produce, prices skyrocketed.

Aizenosa:


Nigeria has done this severally, but the reverse has been the case for us, example we banned exporting of agro produce, prices skyrocketed.

If we want to improve our forex we must import less and export more.

joyandfaith:
Currency can be manipulated especially if government is not transparency. Russia is importing less and exporting more due to sanctions. Nigeria should adopt similar approach. It is good for developing country to grow her economy but it may be self -destructive for a world power like Russia.

We import massive more than we export.
The only way our money can start to get value is when we start exporting a lot or start trading more in Naira.

I remembered Libya dinar was 1 dinar = 1 dollar because Gadaffi made sure you must trade in Dinars.
Libya gold are sold in Dinars

seunny4lif:

We import massive more than we export.
The only way our money can start to get value is when we start exporting a lot or start trading more in Naira.

I remembered Libya dinar was 1 dinar = 1 dollar because Gadaffi made sure you must trade in Dinars.
Libya gold are sold in Dinars

That is what I am saying. But our leaders are senseless

I love all these talk of rouble rebound and sanctions why inflation continues to rise in Russia and recession is imminent

joyandfaith:
Currency can be manipulated especially if government is not transparency. Russia is importing less and exporting more due to sanctions. Nigeria should adopt similar approach. It is good for developing country to grow her economy but it may be self -destructive for a world power like Russia.

Russia is a highly industrialized country. Super industrialized one for that matter with a large steel industry that is even exporting a lot of its work outside the country. It is powered by cheap Nuclear power plants which Russia is the best builder in this line. They are building road by themselves, bridges and your name it.

Russia is the highest exporter of Wheat to other countries in the world. Aside exporting many of its technologies.

Aizenosa:


Nigeria has done this severally, but the reverse has been the case for us, example we banned exporting of agro produce, prices skyrocketed.

Nigeria is not an industrialized country. We do not have a working steel industry so we cannot be an exporting country and be making anything. To be an exporting country, you should have at least 80-90% of the materials you are exporting made within your country and outsource the rest 10%. Nigeria does not practice mechanized farming because you need the ajaokuta steel industry.

Nigeria does not have access to cheap power for powering the industries. Nigeria is not a producing country but a consuming one. This is why I have hated the west. They sabotage the Ajaokuta steel industry for over 4 decades(built By the Russians) and also killed Yaradua for trying to sign new Nuclear power plants deal with Russia. This is the cheapest and the most affordable and reliable source of power for about 200mil people.

Nigeria is far back in terms of development. Russia has a fully industrialized economy, this explains why China cannot really invest in Russia because it met a highly industrialized economy.


For Nigeria to ban anything. It must be an industrialized state first.
We deal more with China. Buhari only tried a currency swap of $2Bill, they have already poisoned him. To put a full stop to the dollar pressure on Naira, you need to do at least a 15-$20Bil currency swap with China to close the deficit.

If ajaokuta is working 24/7/365. The power from the blast furnace can be converted to electricity and can even power two states in Nigeria for 25 years nonstop.

Nigeria is not industrialized as only countries with a steel industry are considered an industrialized nations. Naija needs to kill petro-dollar to stop the Presure on Naira and do what Russia is doing. Sell all Oil export in BTC/GOLD/NAIRA.

The question is, does any crook in aso rock has the balls to do this? Yes but until you have teeth and produce more. At least start from replacing all imports to locally made stuff.

joyandfaith:
Currency can be manipulated especially if government is not transparency. Russia is importing less and exporting more due to sanctions. Nigeria should adopt similar approach. It is good for developing country to grow her economy but it may be self -destructive for a world power like Russia.

Bihari tried that in 2015 when we tried to developer local rice which is successful, ban importation of foreign materials like chicken and turkey which we produce but wolla! naira still crash.
bros the matter get as e be.

joyandfaith:


That is what I am saying. But our leaders are senseless

Senseless ke
Bro, we don’t have leaders
What we have are just Ole

sanpipita:
I love all these talk of rouble rebound and sanctions why inflation continues to rise in Russia and recession is imminent

Inflation is on the rise everywhere
The highest inflation in USA history in 40 years and EU also in the 20 years.