Russia is earning as much as $150mn a day in extra budget revenues from its oil sales, making it the biggest winner from the conflict in the Middle East.
Moscow has so far earned an estimated $1.3bn-$1.9bn windfall from taxes on oil exports after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to rising demand for Russian crude from India and China. The US also eased its Russia sanctions and its pressure on India not to buy Russian oil, prompting a significant number of tankers to head to the Indian Ocean.
The Russian government could receive $3.3bn-$4.9bn in overall additional revenues by the end of March, according to FT calculations based on industry data and several analysts’ assessments. That is assuming Russia’s Urals crude prices average around $70-$80 a barrel this month instead of remaining at a level close to the previous two months’ average of $52 a barrel.