India seeks weekly Russian oil import data amid US trade talks

India is asking refiners for weekly disclosures of Russian and US oil purchases, people familiar with the matter said, adding that they expect Russian crude imports to dip below | million barrels per day as New Delhi seeks to clinch a trade deal with Washington.

- Reuters

India became the biggest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the 2022 outbreak of the Ukraine war. But those purchases have fuelled a backlash from Western nations, which have targeted Russia's energy sector with sanctions, arguing that oil revenues help fund Moscow’s war effort.

The US, which was already looking to narrow its trade deficit with India, doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year as punishment for its heavy purchasing of Russian oil. The two countries are currently negotiating a potential trade deal, though those talks have been fraught at times.