Indian importers of Russian oil are demanding bigger discounts from Russian sellers as the potential risks of trading increase.
Source: Reuters, citing its own sources
Details: Indian buyers said that discounts should be raised to about US$10 per barrel off the Brent benchmark price to match the price cap level.
They note this is due to banks tightening scrutiny amid differences between EU and US policy on Russian oil. Ten dollars is a much larger discount than the US$2-3 per barrel seen in September, traders said.
Meanwhile, some Russian sellers said Indian buyers are demanding excessively large discounts, and indicated they would redirect part of their October spot cargoes to China instead of India, which will slightly reduce supplies to India.
Russian oil arriving in India in October will average about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd). This is less than the 1.5 million bpd in August and 1.6 million bpd in September, according to sources.
Regardless of the outcome, Russian oil in October will in most cases still be sold to India above the price cap, since even a US$10 discount per barrel will not bring prices below the new EU and UK cap of US$47.60 per barrel.
Background:
The EU has lowered the price cap on Russian oil from October, allowing Western insurers and shippers to provide services only if oil is sold below US$47.60 per barrel, down from the previous cap of US$60. The US did not support the lower cap.US President Donald Trump imposed a tough 50% tariff on Indian goods to punish the country for purchasing Russian oil, undermining decades of Washington’s efforts to build closer ties with New Delhi.Indian refineries, some of the biggest buyers of Russian crude, plan to cut purchases in the coming weeks.India has also suspended plans to acquire new American weapons and aircraft, marking the first clear sign of Delhi’s discontent after President Trump imposed higher tariffs on Indian exports.India has saved billions of dollars by boosting imports of cheap Russian oil since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine. But the punitive US tariffs are quickly offsetting those gains, and no easy solutions are in sight.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
From Ukrainska Pravda via this RSS feed