Indian refiners plan slight cut to Russian crude purchases - Bloomberg

This move indicates the country's reluctance to cut ties with Moscow.

State-owned and private refiners, including powerhouse Reliance Industries Ltd., are expected to buy about 1.4–1.6 million barrels per day for October loadings and beyond, compared with an average of 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of the year.

Volumes could change if India strikes a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump and Washington eases pressure on New Delhi over funding Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Trump’s tariffs on India over Russian oil

On Aug. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods in response to purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total amount of extra tariffs to 50%.

Trump said Indian tariffs create extra pressure on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to agree to seek ways to end the war in Ukraine.

On Aug. 19, India temporarily suspended its 11% import duty on cotton until Sept. 30 — read by experts as a signal to Washington of New Delhi’s willingness to address U.S. concerns over agricultural tariffs. This came after the sudden cancellation of a planned visit by U.S. trade negotiators to New Delhi from Aug. 25 to 29.

That same day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said India is profiting from the sharp increase in purchases of Russian oil during the war in Ukraine and that Washington considers this unacceptable.

According to the official, Russian oil now accounts for about 42% of India’s total purchases, whereas before the war it was less than 1%.

“This is what I call the Indian arbitrage — buying cheap Russian oil and reselling it as product,” Bessent concluded.