Bigger discounts lure India to buy more Russian oil. Trump's 50% tariff gambit backfires

United States President Donald Trump’s bid to choke off India’s oil trade with Russia through punishing tariffs is backfiring. Far from backing down, New Delhi is poised to buy even more Russian crude as Moscow dangles steeper discounts.

- S VENKAT NARAYAN

Russian Urals crude is now being offered to India at $3 to $4 a barrel below Brent for shipments in late September and October, Bloomberg reported. Just weeks ago, the gap was $2.50; in July, barely $1.

According to the Bloomberg report, state-run and private refiners in India snapped up 11.4 million barrels of Russian oil between August 27 and September 1.

"Indian refiners have continued to take Russian oil, despite a brief pause in early August, and cheaper Urals are likely to attract strong buying interest,” the report said.

Trade insiders told Reuters that Indian refiners plan to boost Russian oil purchases in September by 10 per cent to 20 per cent from August, or about 150,000 to 300,000 barrels a day,