India's state refiners pause Russian oil buys amid US tariff pressure

India’s state-owned oil refiners are pulling back from purchases of Russian crude for now, according to people with direct knowledge of the companies’ procurement plans, as Washington ratchets up the pressure on New Delhi over the flows with a wave of harsh tariffs, Report informs via Bloomberg.

Companies including Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. plan to skip spot purchases of the crude in the upcoming buying cycle, until there’s clear government guidance, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. On Thursday, IOC bought five million barrels of oil from the US, Brazil and Libya, the latest in a string of purchases for relatively quick delivery.

The global oil market has zeroed in on India’s crude purchasing after President Donald Trump doubled the levy on all Indian exports to the US as a direct punishment for the country’s refiners taking Russian crude. The escalation — which hasn’t yet been matched by similar action against China, another major buyer — is meant to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

The tension has swung futures this week as traders assess the odds of disruption to flows, as well as Moscow’s ability to find alternative buyers should Indian refiners opt to take fewer barrels. Brent was little changed near $67 a barrel on Thursday, following a five-day drop.

Officially, New Delhi hasn’t given any direction to refiners to stop buying Moscow’s crude, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government pushing back against Trump’s tariffs.