As fears grow over the economic impact of rising oil prices, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday evening that the Trump administration is taking steps to promote stability and lower energy prices.
“To increase the global reach of existing supply, the U.S. Treasury is granting temporary authorization for countries to purchase Russian oil currently stuck at sea,” Bessent said in an X post.
“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in significant benefit to our nation and economy in the long term,” Bessent added, suggesting that market fears about rising oil prices were overblown.
Indeed, oil rose nearly 10% to nearly $100 a barrel on Thursday, helping to plunge the already plummeting U.S. stock market into steep losses.
Bitcoin which managed to hold the $70,000 level for most of the day, fell just below $72,000 in the minutes following Bessent’s release, now up 2.2% in the past 24 hours.
WTI crude oil fell by around $2 per barrel, currently trading at $95.22.
