India's service sector growth accelerates amid firm trend in new orders
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Mint
5 minutes ago
- Mint
Russian oil sales to India to continue under 'special mechanism' despite US threats, say embassy officials
New Delhi: Russia's oil supplies to India will continue at the pre-US tariff hike levels under a 'very special mechanism" for crude trade despite the Trump administration's pressure and threat of fresh penal duties, officials at the country's embassy here said, terming Washington's moves as 'unjustified'. Russian supply accounts for close to 40% of India's total crude oil imports, and Washington has accused New Delhi of 'profiteering' from the discounted prices. Embassy officials addressed the media here on Wednesday. "Despite the political situation, we can predict the same level of oil import (by India)," said Roman Babushkin, the charge d'affaires at the Russian embassy in India. Noting that Russia was a major oil producer and India's oil demandwas growing every year, Babushkin said this made for 'a perfect case of mutual accommodation'. Russia's deputy trade representative to India, Evgeniy Griva, said the country's oil supply is very crucial for the Indian economy."There is some mechanism on how to supply crude oil (to India). Now we can't discuss it... there is a very special mechanism," Griva said, adding that Russia typically offers about 5% discount to Indian buyers. The development comes a day after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, in a television interview, accused India of profiteering from cheap Russian oil imports during the war in Ukraine and described the practice as arbitrage. 'They are just profiteering. They are reselling,' Bessent told CNBC in an interview. The US has imposed a 25% tariff on Indian shipments and announced another 25% of duties with effect from 27 August due to the country's purchases of oil from Russia, which has been berated for its war with Ukraine. Russian oil comprises about 7% of the daily global oil consumption and 36% India's oil imports. On the back of deep discounts from Russia starting February 2022, after its invasion of Ukraine, the country became the top supplier to India. Earlier, Russia catered to only about 2.5% of India's oil import. China and India are top buyers of Russian oil. Babushkin also said if Indian goods are facing difficulties entering the US market, the Russian market would absorb India's exports. He also said India and Russia are in an advanced stage of talks for cooperation in small modular reactors. India is looking to enhance its nuclear power generation capacity and there is a special focus on such modular reactors in order to achieve energy security and curb carbon emissions.
NDTV
5 minutes ago
- NDTV
China In "Opportunistic" Move, Pounces On Cheap Russian Oil, As Indian Demand Dips
Chinese refineries have ramped up their crude oil purchases from Russia as demand from India has weakened. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose secondary tariffs on goods from countries importing Russian oil in a bid to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler, which tracks commodities and shipping data, said that China's buying shows an "opportunistic" side, as the price of Russian oil is at least $3 per barrel cheaper than oil from the Middle East. Indian state refiners paused Russian oil purchases last month, per a Reuters report. They have backed out Russian crude imports by approximately 600,000 to 700,000 bpd, according to Energy Aspects' Jones. "As for whether China will continue buying, I personally believe that right now is still a very good opportunity, because over in India, Trump is still pressing hard on them," she said, per a report by CNN. "Taking advantage of this opportunity while prices are low, I think more refineries will probably consider buying more, within a week or two," Xu said. China has purchased 15 cargoes of Russian crude for delivery in October and November, according to Reuters. Since Russia became a pariah after some Western nations shunned purchases and imposed restrictions on Russian exports over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India has emerged as the leading buyer of Russia's discounted seaborne oil. Trump has said that although he is not planning immediate retaliatory tariffs on China for purchasing Russian oil, he may consider the same "in two weeks or three weeks". However, Xu said despite China purchasing about 1.2 million barrels of seaborne Russian oil per day, it cannot make up for India's shortfall, as the latter buys around 1.7 million barrels per day from Russia. "If India keeps holding off on buying, that's going to be a real problem for Russia - China just can't take on all of India's volume by itself," she said.
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Business Standard
5 minutes ago
- Business Standard
India, Eurasian Economic Union ink terms of reference for trade pact talks
India and the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union bloc on Wednesday inked terms of reference to start formal negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement, an official statement said. The five members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The development is important as India is looking to diversify its export markets due to high tariffs imposed by the US. The terms of reference (ToR), the commerce ministry said, provides the framework for negotiations and is expected to unlock untapped trade potential, increase investments and establish a stronger, durable IndiaEAEU economic partnership. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the early conclusion of the agreement and to building a long-term institutional framework for trade cooperation, it said. The two-way trade stood at $69 billion in 2024, an increase of 7 per cent over 2023. With a combined GDP of $6.5 trillion, the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to expand market access for Indian exporters, support diversification into new sectors and geographies, enhance competitiveness against non-market economies, and deliver significant benefits to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the ministry said. "India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) signed the ToR to launch negotiations on an FTA today in Moscow," it said. It was signed by Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Ajay Bhadoo, and Deputy Director, Trade Policy Department, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Mikhail Cherekaev. In such agreements, two or more trading partners either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. These agreements provide greater market access to Indian goods and services. Russia is the top trading partner of India in the bloc, with bilateral trade worth $68.72 billion in 2024-25 (exports $4.88 billion and imports $63.84 billion). The high import numbers are because of jump in crude oil imports. The bilateral trade with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan was $315.18 million, $106.69 million, $349.48 million, and $56.78 million, respectively, in the last fiscal. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
