Indian refiners are preparing to shift away from Russian oil, with a drop in purchases possible from December, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, though added they had not been formally instructed to stop buying.
India and China are the biggest buyers of Russian crude at discounted prices that Moscow has been forced to offer after losing sales to Europe following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he(Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.”
India said the country was discussing deeper energy co-operation with the US but its Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was not aware of any telephone conversation between Modi and Trump a day earlier.
Oil prices were stable on Thursday as traders said it would take time for India to reduce Russian imports. Russia accounts for 36% of India’s oil imports, or some 1.75 million barrels per day, trade data showed. Imports are set to rise in October as Russia ramped up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.
–Reuters–
