Russia Oil Exports Slip as US Sanctions Bite, Saudi Supply Returns

The timing is the tell: Russian seaborne flows weakening just as Saudi west-coast supply returns suggests the market may be absorbing a genuine supply rotation rather than a temporary outage. That matters because it tests whether sanctions are now biting into volumes, not just pricing. The next signal to watch is whether the four-week average keeps drifting lower once Saudi barrels are fully back, which would indicate the sanctions effect is structural rather than a one-week blip.