U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said late Thursday that the Trump administration was taking steps to promote stability and lower energy prices as concerns grew about the economic impact of soaring oil costs.
“To expand the global reach of existing supplies, the U.S. Treasury Department is providing temporary authorization to allow countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded offshore,” Bessant said in an X post.
Bessant added: “The temporary rise in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will bring huge benefits to our country and economy in the long term.” This suggests that market concerns about rising oil prices are exaggerated.
In fact, oil prices rose nearly 10% to nearly $100 a barrel on Thursday, causing an already depressed U.S. stock market to fall sharply.
Bitcoin After remaining at the $70,000 level for much of the day, Bessent jumped to just under $72,000 within minutes of the release, up 2.2% in the past 24 hours.
WTI crude oil has fallen back about $2/barrel and is currently trading at $95.22.