Ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may help the Trump administration finally make good on its pledge to bring down gas prices for Americans, according to Dawn Fitzpatrick, CEO of Soros Fund Management, the family office of George Soros. “Trump needs more oil, right? Part of what he’s been promising the U.S. consumer is lower prices, and particularly lower prices when it comes to the gas pump,” Fitzpatrick said at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York today (March 4).
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago didn’t immediately “reverberate” through markets as “Russia is not that relevant from a trading perspective,” Fitzpatrick said. But as the warring nations attempt to negotiate a peace deal in which the U.S. is playing a defining role, a “wild card” could be Russia dropping out of OPEC, which could have a real impact on whether Trump can deliver on his promise to lower gas prices for U.S. consumers. Alongside Saudi Arabia, Russia is one of the most powerful members of the oil alliance’s expanded group, OPEC+. “The only that’s worth watching, in my opinion and in the context of trading markets, is oil,” Fitzpatrick said.
Last week, President Donald Trump had a heated Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that ended with no signatures on any agreement. Trump has maintained his intention to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, while Zelensky refused to sign a ceasefire without a security guarantee backed by the U.S. Zelensky today (March 4) released a statement proposing a partial ceasefire and reiterating his desire “to work with the U.S. to agree to a strong final deal.”
Whether the U.S. is able to finally broker a peace deal remains “a big if,” conceded Fitzpatrick. But in light of America’s domestic drilling challenges and resistance from Saudi Arabia’s oil industry to ramp up production, Russia has emerged as a “lever he can really pull” to bring gas prices down, she noted.
Trump has previously put OPEC forward as a potential tool to halt the war. In recent weeks, the U.S. president repeatedly called for the alliance to lower oil prices in a bid to put pressure on Russia. “If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” Trump said in January while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In addition to CEO, Fitzpatrick also serves as chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management. The family office has made selective investments in the oil sector, aligning with its climate action strategy. Specific details on its current oil-related investments are not publicly disclosed.
