Sanctions on Russia

goldenowl73 said:Honestly, you’re just gonna end up dumping them once things get too intense, especially when they start selling oil to India at those same crazy rates the Russians are offering.

So, I was just scrolling through the news this morning—you know how it is, coffee in hand, trying to make sense of the world before the workday actually hits—and I stumbled upon this heavy report about the G7 leaders meeting up. It’s one of those stories that feels like it’s straight out of a political thriller, honestly. Basically, the big players from the G7 are circling the wagons around Ukraine. They’re looking at ways to use the profits from frozen Russian assets to help fund Kyiv’s defense and reconstruction efforts. It sounds pretty straightforward when you read the headlines, but once you start digging into the mechanics of it, man, things get complicated fast. We're talking about massive amounts of money tied up in international banking systems, and there's this whole intense debate happening about whether using these funds is actually legal under international law or if it sets a precedent that might spook global investors later on. It reminds me of that time back in college when my roommate tried to convince our entire floor to pool our savings to invest in some crazy startup idea. He was so convinced it was foolproof, but the legal fine print was such a mess that we ended up spending more on legal advice than we ever hoped to make! There’s always that tension between "this is the right thing to do" and "is this going to blow up in our faces?" The big question now is how they’ll actually pull it off without causing a total meltdown in the global financial markets. If they go too far, they risk making other countries rethink how safe their own assets are held in Western banks. But if they don't act, they're essentially letting the interest from those frozen billions just sit there while the situation on the ground remains so volatile. It's a high-stakes balancing act, for sure. I'll be keeping a close eye on this one to see if they find a middle ground or if it turns into a complete diplomatic headache.

You know, I was just looking at some of the latest market trends, and man, it’s wild to see how much Russian crude has been trading at such massive discounts lately. It’s one of those things where you think you have a handle on the numbers, but then you dive into the actual data and realize just how deep the holes are. Honestly, it reminds me of back when I was trying to flip vintage tech gear online—you'd see these incredible deals that looked too good to be true, only to realize there was a massive catch involving logistics or something similar. In this case, the "catch" is basically the entire geopolitical headache surrounding the Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Because of all that pressure, they've had to slash prices just to keep the gears turning, and seeing those margins get squeezed like that is pretty eye-opening if you're following the energy sector closely. I’m looking at that range between $30 and $40 right now, and honestly, it feels like a pretty solid sweet spot to me. I was chatting with a buddy of mine the other day about how prices have been swinging all over the place lately, and we kept coming back to this specific bracket as being where the real action is happening. It’s not too low to be cheap, but it’s not hitting those crazy premium levels either—just that perfect middle ground where you feel like you're getting actual value without having to empty your wallet completely. I've been hovering around these numbers for a bit, just weighing the options and seeing how things settle, but I'm feeling pretty optimistic about staying within that window! So, I was just sitting here crunching some numbers and looking at how much we're actually paying per barrel when you stack it up against that Brent crude benchmark everyone keeps talking about. It’s honestly wild how much the spread can shift depending on which way the wind blows in the energy markets! I’m honestly feeling pretty bullish about this one—looking at that jump from $110 up toward the $120 mark, and man, it just feels like we're catching some serious momentum! I was chatting with a buddy of mine the other day about these kinds of swings, and he always says you have to watch those specific resistance levels, and right now, everything seems to be lining up perfectly for a run. It’s such an exciting stretch to watch, especially when you see the price action starting to firm up like this. Personally, I’ve been riding this wave with a lot of optimism, and seeing it push toward that $120 target has me feeling incredibly pumped! The price per barrel has been shifting quite a bit lately, mostly because of those Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Honestly, I don't see the issue with Russia selling oil to India at the same rates they were offering everyone else before those sanctions kicked in and speculators started driving prices up to $110 or $120 a barrel.

If you consider that the cost for Russia to pull oil out of the ground is roughly $19 per barrel, they’re walking away with a massive profit even if they sell it at around $80 a barrel.
Since about half of that exported oil flows directly back into the Russian treasury, they can weather these sanctions indefinitely.
It's a win-win situation where Russia keeps making money, India gets a great deal, and their mutual interests just strengthen this "friendship" between them.

Just a side note,
just something for you to think about,
since the sanctions began, China has been importing more and more oil from Russia, which has actually overtaken Saudi Arabia as China's primary oil supplier.

China's crude oil imports from Russia hit record highs in May, while Saudi Arabia lost its standing as China's top supplier.

https://hr.n1info.com/biznis/rusija-...nafte-za-kinu/

Christian Torres3 said:Bureaucracy at its finest. They never actually intended to take control of Kyiv anyway...

New Russian passports issued this year are listing Kyiv as being part of Russia. https://t.co/fyzVA5H93X
https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status...zAbjOj6eg&s=19

One must jump before they can shout "eureka." They prepared extensively, yet they chose the wrong stage. Had they focused slightly more on their tires and slightly less on the fine print in their passports—perhaps the future would look different. It is the same old story. They stumble over the most basic, fundamental details every single time.

Nancy Gomez26 said:One must jump before they can shout "eureka." They prepared extensively, yet they chose the wrong stage. Had they focused slightly more on their tires and slightly less on the fine print in their passports—perhaps the future would look different. It is the same old story. They stumble over the most basic, fundamental details every single time.

I guess I'd start printing new passports that say Moscow, Ukraine

urbanotter said:You’ve thrown out a lot of theories here, but you seem to be overlooking the fact that Russia is under heavy sanctions. The strength of the ruble is really just a byproduct of a massive trade surplus that has persisted despite all that external pressure.

Right now, that strong ruble is actually helping importers, especially since the American market is seeing shortages of products that were traditionally imported or produced by companies that pulled out of Russia due to the sanctions.

Honestly, don't lose any sleep over the ruble. Elvira Nabullina is the one managing it, and she deserves a fair amount of credit for ensuring that the sanctions haven't hit the Russian economy as hard as everyone expected.

What can you expect when Elvira Nabullina isn't getting paid by the ESB, but by the Russian state itself? And word is she pulls a "fat paycheck," many times larger than that subordinate Vujčić, who spends all his time trying to undermine us and everything south of Bulgaria.

Importers of what?

If you'd actually followed the economic forum in Petersburg, you would've heard one of the things Elvira Nabiuljina is demanding (Interfax). But why wouldn't she? She can only do what the mafia running the state tells her to do—they don't even understand the technicalities.

Nancy Gomez26 said:Paper gold on those exchanges? Total garbage. It’s even more inflated than fiat. You either hold the actual metal in your hands—or you have nothing at all.

I'm wondering why they aren't factoring in the broker commissions. With this whole fetish, the only people actually making money are the ones selling you the metal.

analogbear5 said:Importers of what?

If you'd actually followed the economic forum in Petersburg, you would've heard one of the things Elvira Nabiuljina is demanding (Interfax). But why wouldn't she? She can only do what the mafia running the state tells her to do—they don't even understand the technicalities.

It covers absolutely everything—we’re talking about everything from cars and washing machines to dishwashers, and even that list of elevators one of our colleagues posted here on the forum.

If you had been keeping an eye on the economic forums over in St. Petersburg, you probably would have heard about this already. One of the many things that Elvira Nabiuljina demands is quite significant. According to reports from Interfax, why wouldn't she just do it? Honestly, I don't think she will. It feels like her hands are tied because she can only execute exactly what the organized crime elements running the country demand from her. They don't even grasp the technical nuances of these processes, so they just push their own agenda instead.

Of course he’s going to suggest easing up on those restrictions regarding the freeze of $300 billion in Russian foreign exchange reserves and that $600 billion in gold. It feels like such an obvious move from his perspective, trying to find some middle ground after everything that's been locked down.

It’s actually quite surreal to look at where we stand now, especially seeing how the dollar has finally stabilized and reached its strongest position we've seen in decades. I remember sitting around the kitchen table years ago, watching the exchange rates swing wildly and feeling that constant, nagging uncertainty about what everything would cost by the end of the month. There was always this sense of instability hanging over us, but seeing this level of strength feels like a genuine turning point. It’s a bit of a relief to breathe easier when the currency finally finds its footing after so much turbulence.
I honestly feel like we can let go of those restrictions now; even without them, the ruble is still finding its footing and gaining strength on its own.

I honestly don't know how much the mafia running Russia actually understands about these technical economic nuances, but judging by the way the ruble is behaving, it seems like they’re listening to whatever the numbers tell them.😉

It seems to me that their version of organized corruption operates on an entirely different wavelength than the systems we see here in the States or across Western Europe. Because they don't answer to any real oversight, they just keep hitting the exact same pressure points over and over again. It’s like they're stuck in this repetitive cycle of mismanagement, and honestly, I can see why people are starting to tune out; the audience is slowly drifting away because they've realized the game is rigged.

It’s honestly getting to be a bit much at this point; they’ve clearly mastered the art of imposing sanctions, and now it feels like they're just constantly dreaming up one new package after another.
Honestly, there are more variations of them than there are different models of Volkswagens out there.

I don't personally drive a Golf, so I'm a bit out of the loop on the specifics, but if you can point me in the right direction, I'd love to know which model is currently on the assembly line before they pivot entirely to electric vehicles.

I can't help but wonder if we're going to see the same pattern play out with electric vehicles. It feels like they’ll start rolling out specific models by category—maybe starting with the basic commuters, then moving up to the mid-range stuff, and just working their way up the ladder from there. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some major manufacturer decided to brand an entire line of cars as "Sanction Editions" or something equally cheeky, giving us a whole catalog of models to choose from based entirely on those labels.

Well, look at that—sanctions seem to be everywhere these days, so why wouldn't we find a way to reward them? Who knows, maybe we'll even end up seeing those rewards printed on US dollar bills eventually.

p.s.
Let’s just set the sanctions aside for tonight; they tend to exert their influence whether the enemy is wide awake or fast asleep.
Honestly, I think we should all take a moment to sit down and watch that documentary called "Earth." It feels like a much better use of our time to actually learn something meaningful about this planet while we still have the chance to appreciate it, rather than just spinning our wheels with endless, empty arguments here on the forum.

analogbear5 said:I'm wondering why they aren't factoring in the broker commissions. With this whole fetish, the only people actually making money are the ones selling you the metal.

Exactly.

Back in 2005, when I was looking at buying a small commuter car, I realized I could have just bought an entire ounce of gold with that same amount of cash...

Fast forward to today, that old car is probably sitting in a junkyard in Detroit, but can you even imagine what an ounce of gold would cost now?

It’s become quite common to see people treating cars more like investment assets than simple transportation.

The same logic seems to be applying to groceries, too.

Dana Robinson4 said:Exactly.

Back in 2005, when I was looking at buying a small commuter car, I realized I could have just bought an entire ounce of gold with that same amount of cash...

Fast forward to today, that old car is probably sitting in a junkyard in Detroit, but can you even imagine what an ounce of gold would cost now?

Same story as back in 1981.

analogbear5 said:Same story as back in 1981.

Back in 1981, gold was trading at $400 an ounce.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/his...100-year-chart

Let's not get bogged down in the weeds over minor details.

Amanda Allen4 said:Back in 1981, gold was trading at $400 an ounce.

Look, when you're converting gold prices into fiat, you can't ignore inflation—it changes everything. A dollar in 2005 just had way more punch than a dollar does today.

Dana Robinson4 said:Exactly.

Back in 2005, when I was looking at buying a small commuter car, I realized I could have just bought an entire ounce of gold with that same amount of cash...

Fast forward to today, that old car is probably sitting in a junkyard in Detroit, but can you even imagine what an ounce of gold would cost now?

Well, if you look at it now, for the price of one ounce of gold, you could probably pick up four or five of those tiny city cars, or maybe even a really decent, high-end SUV.

slyfox43 said:https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/his...100-year-chart

Let's not get bogged down in the weeds over minor details.

Nice one, 👍

it looks like I really missed the boat; I should have just bought back in 1970 and sold everything in 2011
to really make a killing.
Oh well, I guess if you want to strike it rich, you need to have the luck of someone like Rohatinski or Vučić instead of being an average Joe like me.

But honestly, since you all seem to be such experts, tell me—how are these sanctions and the resulting inflation going to play out alongside this new round of restrictions banning the purchase of Russian gold? (Even though I heard Switzerland picked up a few tons of Russian gold just the other day). How will all this impact gold prices?
I’m trying not to throw my hard-earned dollars and euros down the drain because of all the nonsense and idiocy coming from Putin.

So, what do your crystal balls say—since they are apparently so good at predicting the past—about when these sanctions might actually be lifted, and where do you think the price per ounce is headed once they are?

So what are you waiting for? Go shopping. Better grab stuff while prices are still high—once this war settles down, everything’s gonna adjust.

(Glad someone brought up gold. Now I see why you guys keep pushing the narrative that war and Western collapse are somehow better.)

slyfox43 said:https://www.macrotrends.net/1333/his...100-year-chart

Let's not get bogged down in the weeds over minor details.

Way to go, 👍

I guess I really missed my window; I should have just bought back in 1970 and held until 2011
to really make a killing.

Honestly, if you want to play that game, you ought to have a name like Rohatinski or Vučić instead of urbanotter, because those guys seem to know exactly when to cash out on whatever assets were left behind by the old regime.

But look, for those of you who claim to be visionaries, how do you think these sanctions and the resulting inflation—especially with the new round of restrictions aimed at banning Russian gold (even though Switzerland apparently picked up a few tons of it just the other day)—are going to impact gold prices?
I’d rather not throw away my hard-earned dollars and euros on speculation caused by all of Putin's nonsense and sheer stupidity.

So, what do your crystal balls say—since they're apparently so great at predicting the past—about when these sanctions might actually be lifted, and where do you see the price per ounce heading once that happens? 🤔🙂

Gold’s commanding a pretty hefty premium right now. Once this war finally wraps up—God forbid—prices will likely take a dip.

analogbear5 said:Gold’s commanding a pretty hefty premium right now. Once this war finally wraps up—God forbid—prices will likely take a dip.

I hear what you're saying,

but the problem is I have no idea when that actually happens.

And since your crystal ball seems to be so incredibly accurate, I'm sure it could tell me the exact day when things will turn around.

p.s.

I really don't want to end up making a massive mistake out of pure greed, much like those folks who got crushed by those Swiss franc loans back in the day.
Help me out here, friend, because I'm starting to think my own intuition is totally failing me.🙂🙂

urbanotter said:Honestly, I don't see the issue with Russia selling oil to India at the same rates they were offering everyone else before those sanctions kicked in and speculators started driving prices up to $110 or $120 a barrel.

If you consider that the cost for Russia to pull oil out of the ground is roughly $19 per barrel, they’re walking away with a massive profit even if they sell it at around $80 a barrel.
Since about half of that exported oil flows directly back into the Russian treasury, they can weather these sanctions indefinitely.
It's a win-win situation where Russia keeps making money, India gets a great deal, and their mutual interests just strengthen this "friendship" between them.

Just a side note,
just something for you to think about,
since the sanctions began, China has been importing more and more oil from Russia, which has actually overtaken Saudi Arabia as China's primary oil supplier.

China's crude oil imports from Russia hit record highs in May, while Saudi Arabia lost its standing as China's top supplier.

https://hr.n1info.com/biznis/rusija-...nafte-za-kinu/

By the way, did you catch that they're actually selling it for maybe $30 to $40 a barrel? It's not $80 like you mentioned. Once you factor in that $19 extraction cost plus the shipping to India—since there isn't a direct pipeline there—the margins look a lot different.

urbanotter said:I hear what you're saying,

but the problem is I have no idea when that actually happens.

And since your crystal ball seems to be so incredibly accurate, I'm sure it could tell me the exact day when things will turn around.

p.s.

I really don't want to end up making a massive mistake out of pure greed, much like those folks who got crushed by those Swiss franc loans back in the day.
Help me out here, friend, because I'm starting to think my own intuition is totally failing me.🙂🙂

Right now? Nobody has a clue. But it’s definitely coming—unless we all go up in smoke in some nuclear standoff, at which point stocks and gold won't mean squat compared to a can of beans.