As the war continues, oil and gas prices around the world continue to rise. So, the US said that it would release a lot of the oil it had accumulated so far, but today (the 1st) international oil prices fell a lot on this news. Russia, blocked by economic sanctions, has declared that it will have to pay Russian money, the ruble, to buy its own gas in the future.
Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York analyzed what this means.
<기자>
President Biden blamed Putin for the surge in international oil prices.
[조 바이든/미국 대통령 : 국제 유가 급등은 푸틴의 행동 때문입니다. 충분한 공급이 이뤄지지 않고 있어요. 기름값이 떨어지길 원한다면, 결론은 지금 당장 기름 공급을 늘려야 한다는 겁니다.]
He also announced that the U.S. would release 180 million barrels of oil a day from 1 million barrels a day for the next six months.
It is the largest ever.
[조 바이든/미국 대통령 : 이번 조치는 올 연말 석유 공급량이 늘어날 때까지 전시 임시방편입니다. 그리고 미국 역사상 가장 큰 규모의 비축유 방출입니다.]
International oil prices fell sharply on this news.
In the midst of this, Russia announced that it would have to pay only in rubles to purchase its own gas.
It is a gimmick that increases the demand for the ruble and prevents further currency depreciation, while forcing the West to do business with Russian banks, thereby violating sanctions on its own.
Europe, which has a high dependence on Russian gas, has called this a threat, but Germany and Austria have issued early warnings in case of gas interruption.
[조지 볼/투자회사 샌더스 모리스 해리스 대표 : 유럽이 미국이나 다른 나라로부터 LNG 가스를 들여온다 해 도 러시아산 가스 수입량은 당장은 대체할 수 없습니다. 현재 유럽은 러시아에 대한 에너지 의존도가 높다는 문제를 갖고 있습니다.]
Although the US is trying to respond by releasing a huge amount of oil reserves, there are also analyzes that putin’s strategy of weaponizing energy outright could crack the unity of the West.
(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan)