Energy blackmail is losing its grip. After surging to nearly $120 per barrel on Monday morning, the price of Brent crude began a sharp decline. The sell-off accelerated after Donald Trump promised to end the war in Iran “very soon” and temporarily lift oil sanctions to cool the market. During overnight electronic trading, prices plunged below the $90 threshold.
Gas Market Crash and Failed OPEC+ Pressure
Efforts by Middle Eastern nations to boost prices by cutting production failed to impress traders. By 12:00 Moscow time, oil was trading at $91.7, a 7.3% drop from Monday’s close. Natural gas in Europe saw an even more dramatic reversal: from a peak of €68.8/MWh (nearly $835 per 1,000 cubic meters), the Dutch TTF futures plummeted by 32.7%, reaching €47.9 by Tuesday afternoon.
Closing the Kremlin’s “Window of Profit”
For Europe, this collapse in prices is a vital sigh of relief that undermines Russia’s strategy of profiting from global instability. While Washington steps in as a stabilizer, the aggressor’s resource-dependent economy is facing a new reality where oil revenues may shrink much faster than planned. The geopolitical gamble on high energy prices has failed; European resilience combined with US pragmatism is delivering a calculated blow to Moscow’s fiscal ambitions.