India increased its purchases of American crude oil in August at competitive prices to reduce the US trade deficit, Reuters reported.
According to the report, state-owned refiners Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum, together with the private company Reliance Industries, purchased a total of 9 mln barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in October and November through a tender. These purchases could potentially reduce the US trade deficit with India ($45.8 bln) amid tensions arising from the imposition of 50% US tariffs on Indian exports.
Reuters noted that Indian companies boosted their US oil purchases under pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump, with the aim of reselling this crude to Asian countries.
Earlier, the agency reported that Indian companies intended to increase crude imports from Russia in September by 10-20%, or by 150,000-300,000 barrels per day compared with August. During the first 20 days of August, India imported 1.5 mln barrels of Russian crude per day, matching July’s level. These volumes represent approximately 1.5% of global supply and make India the largest buyer of Russian crude, covering about 40% of the country’s domestic needs. According to Reuters sources, Russian crude is likely to remain the main component of India’s purchases of this resource.
On August 6, the US imposed additional 25% tariffs on India in response to its acquisition of Russian crude and petroleum products. Considering the previously enacted 25% tariffs on Indian goods, total duties on imports from India to the US were raised to 50%.
