"I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up," Treasury Secretary-pick Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Thursday.

On Jan. 10 the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 161 tankers and traders involved in about 2,000 shipments since the invasion began. It also acted against Moscow-based ship insurers and two companies — Surgutneftgas and Gazpromneft — which in the first 10 months of last year accounted for almost 30% of Russia’s oil exports.

Crude’s rally continued this week on the heels of the Biden administrations announcement of new sanctions against several Russian entities and as an 8th-straight week of