Donald Trump’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian oil is probably more symbolic than practical, leading oil analyst and senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center,

U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to choke off Russia’s oil revenue via secondary sanctions would deal a hammer blow to Moscow's finances, but markets are betting that the risk of higher energy prices will keep Washington from following through.

Russia’s crude exports hit a one-month high, driven by a surge in weekly flows that coincided with a sharp drop in refinery runs. The increase came before President Donald Trump’s threat of secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if Moscow fails to make a swift peace with Ukraine.