Russian Crude Exports Slide on Drone Strikes and Trump’s Tariffs

Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia’s oil export pipelines and a doubling of US tariffs on goods imported from India appear to be hitting Moscow’s crude flows.

Weekly crude shipments from Russian ports fell by 320,000 barrels a day in the week to Aug. 24, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Flows dropped to a four-week low of 2.72 million barrels a day, pushed down by reduced loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga. The drop left four-week average crude shipments little changed, with seaborne cargoes averaging 3.06 million barrels a day.

Ukraine has intensified attacks targeting Russia’s oil infrastructure, hitting a major pumping ...