India's biggest importer halts Russian oil purchases, Reuters says

Thus, the Indian company denied media reports that it was expecting the arrival of three vessels carrying Russian oil to its Jamnagar refinery. As a result of the cut, imports of Russian oil to India could fall to the lowest level in recent years.

The statement by Reliance Industries, India's largest buyer of Russian oil last year, came after US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday, January 4, of a possible increase in import tariffs.

With Reliance halting its purchases of Russian oil, imports of Russian oil to India in January are expected to decline further, effectively leaving China as Moscow's only primary market.

It is noted that US and EU sanctions have already led to a sharp reduction in Russian oil supplies to India. In particular, in December, they fell to a three-year low of 1.2 million barrels per day.

"That marks a roughly 40% drop from a June peak of around 2 million bpd," Reuters noted.

Sources told the agency they expect further reductions in India's purchases of Russian oil to less than 1 million barrels per day.

Sanctions pressure on India

The United States raised tariffs on most Indian goods to 50%, partly linking additional duties to India's purchases of Russian energy resources and weapons. This dealt a heavy blow to Indian companies that actively export products to the United States.

In November, it became known that Indian energy giant Reliance Industries had completely halted imports of Russian oil in compliance with international sanctions, but later resumed supplies.

In early January, India asked oil refiners to disclose information on purchases of Russian and US oil, as New Delhi seeks to conclude a trade deal with Washington.