Indias oil imports from Russia surge Reuters
The South Asian nations purchases of Russian crude are set to reach a 10-month high, according to Kpler data
India's imports of Russian crude oil are expected to reach around 1.8 million barrels per day in May, the highest level in 10 months, Reuters has reported, citing ship-tracking data from Kpler. The surge is attributed to refiners purchasing more light grades, such as Russia's ESPO Blend.
Traders predict that the strong demand for lighter Russian grades will continue until July, driven by Indian refiners who have ordered over 10 cargoes of ESPO crude for June loading, the Reuters report added. ESPO crude refers to oil from the Eastern Siberian-Pacific Ocean pipeline.
The most recent purchases of Russian crude by India were made before the EU and UK imposed the latest round of sanctions targeting Moscow's so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers and financial firms. Despite Western concerns, India has strengthened its economic ties with Russia and increased its imports of Russian crude oil throughout the Ukraine conflict.
India's imports of Russian crude oil, which were marginally down earlier in 2025, bounced back from March onwards. The surge is attributed to lower prices, which have made it more economical for refiners. Additionally, the decreased prices have led to an increase in the availability of non-sanctioned tankers, facilitating easier transportation of oil for Indian companies.
After the imposition of a round of Western sanctions on Moscow in February, New Delhi said it would continue purchasing Russian oil, provided that certain conditions were met. These included a sale price below $60 per barrel, transportation on tankers that are not subject to sanctions, and ensuring that transactions did not involve any sanctioned entities or individuals, according to the Financial Express.
Russian crude accounted for over 35% of India's totaloil importsin March. The surge in imports in May has helped Moscow solidify its position as a major oil supplier to Asia's third largest economy.
(RT.com)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
So much for being Mr Nice Guy: Trump slams China for 'violating' trade deal with US
US President Donald Trump on Friday accused China of violating its trade agreement with the United States amid the ongoing tussle over tariffs and counter-tariffs, saying that he has paid so much for being "Mr, Nice Guy!"Trump claimed that by sealing a trade deal with Beijing in order to save China from what was going to be a very bad situation after he imposed unprecedented 145 per cent tariffs on imports from Asia's largest a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "Two weeks ago China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace which is, by far, number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, 'civil unrest.' I saw what was happening and didn't like it, for them, not for us. I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"advertisement This came hours after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that trade negotiations with China were stalled and required direct involvement from President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to move forward. Speaking to Fox News, Bessent highlighted the complexity of the talks and said progress had slowed since the temporary 90-day truce reached earlier this this month, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration agreed to drop the 145 per cent tariff imposed last month to 30 per cent. China agreed to lower its tariff rate on US goods to 10 per cent from 125 per cent in two biggest economies agreed to roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period in a bid to defuse the brewing trade war between announcement came on the back of the marathon trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, the first high-level talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump imposed steep tariffs on Chinese May 29, US Treasury Secretary Bessent said that the temporary deal helped calm markets but failed to address deeper US concerns about China's state-controlled economic model. Since then, the Trump administration has turned its focus to trade talks with other partners, including Japan, India, and the EU.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
EV makers Tata, Mahindra seek to block hybrids in govt fleets, documents show
India's biggest automakers are seeking to block a pollution management body's attempts to promote hybrid vehicles in government fleets in and around New Delhi, saying it will disrupt adoption of cleaner battery electric cars and hit investments, documents show. Companies, including Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors , are lobbying the ministry of heavy industries to overturn an attempt to equate hybrids with EVs and ensure incentives for all government programmes are restricted to electric models, five company letters seen by Reuters show. In a May 2 advisory, the Commission for Air Quality Management, tasked with fixing severe air pollution levels in India's capital region, categorised strong hybrids as "cleaner vehicles" recommending their use in government fleets, a move that caught carmakers by surprise. Given the "ultra-high density" of vehicular traffic in New Delhi and nearby areas, there is a need to move away from "polluting vehicles, dependent purely on fossil fuels like diesel and petrol", the commission said. Automakers, however, argue that hybrids - which use a battery and combustion engine - are reliant on fossil fuels whereas EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions, making them an effective solution for the urban air pollution crisis. "Our plea is for government policy and incentives to stay firmly focused only on EVs," Mahindra said in its May 15 letter to the heavy industries ministry. Along with Tata and Mahindra, JSW MG Motor , Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp have also written to the ministry in support of electric cars, rekindling their face-off with hybrid proponents like Toyota Motor and Maruti Suzuki. Tata, Mahindra, JSW MG Motor, Hyundai , Kia Corp and the ministry of heavy industries did not respond to requests for comment. Policy uncertainty The potential opportunity is huge - of the 847,544 vehicles in use by government agencies across India in 2022, only 5,384 were EVs - less than 1%, official data showed. A major concern for EV makers is that support for hybrids dilutes the Indian government's own policy which incentivises only EVs in its production-linked schemes and other programmes. It will also create confusion among car buyers, companies and investors, hurting EV sales at a time when their growth is already slowing due to inadequate charging infrastructure and high upfront vehicle costs. "The lack of a consistent and predictable policy environment may deter long-term investors ... particularly in high-capex, technology-intensive sectors like EV," said Tata, which has raised $1 billion from private equity firm TPG for its EV push. Tata in its May 15 letter said, the commission's move will undermine current and proposed EV investments, impact India's global image as an investor friendly destination and send mixed signals to international stakeholders. Carmakers in India are expected to invest over $10 billion through 2030 to manufacture lithium-ion cells, EVs and batteries, ratings agency Moody's said in a report, adding EV adoption rates in India are still low versus China, Europe and the U.S. Mahindra's EV unit counts Singapore's Temasek and British International Investment among investors while Hyundai plans to invest over $500 million in EVs in India.
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
Meet the Indian couple whose baraat shut down Wall Street: All you need to know about them
Image credits: X/@NELiveTV Recently, videos of a baraat shutting down the streets of the New York Stock Exchange went viral on the internet from people across the world being shocked by the typically bustling streets of NYC being filled with 400 people dressed in Indian attires dancing to music. The video of the crowd grooving outside Cipriani Wall Street was shared by DJ AJ on his Instagram account. "We shut down Wall Street for a 400-person Baraat. Who would've ever thought?!" While people were surprised to see the entire scene, what they were more intrigued about were the couple whose wedding procession took over the NYC- who they were and how rich they would be to block down blocks of the city for their wedding baraat? Here's all you need to know about the Indian couple whose baraat 'shut down' Wall Street. The couple who were deemed to be some sort of 'millionaires' by half the people viewing the videos of their wedding baraat were identified as Varun Navani, CEO of enterprise AI platform Rolai and Amanda Soll, director of legal compliance and risk management, according to their LinkedIn pages. Additionally, the NYPost confirmed their identities by their wedding page on The Knot, which had details of their four-day wedding celebration. While the high-power couple hails from Boston, Massachusetts, they decided to tie the knot in NYC not only breaking the internet but most probably also their bank. As per the city records viewed by The Post, Navani and Soll filed 28 permits for their wedding day, thus spending somewhere between $25,000 and $66,000 per location to shut down the streets of the Financial District. The street events are classified by the Mayor's Office on the basis of the area they take over-curbs, sidewalks and roads and by size and impact. While "large" events require full block closure and extensive setup, "extra-large" events need even more space, permits and NYPD coordination. Navani and Soll's wedding festivities began on May 23rd, with breakfast and afternoon tea at the Conrad Hotel and a sangeet at The Glasshouse. On the 24th, the day began with brunch and tea at the Conrad, before the baraat started off at 3:30 pm, followed by a reception at the Cipriani Wall Street that had guests dancing from 5:30 pm to 2 am. That's not all, on the 25th, the couple had another wedding, this time a Jewish one, at Cipriani and an after-party at Slate that was going on till 4 am. Lastly, on the 26th, they wrapped up the festivities with a post-wedding brunch and lunch at Conrad. The couple's wedding surely had been grasping their chains on its expenditure and others relishing in the fun of two people joining hands forever.
