India has suspended purchases of Russian oil

Some refineries are meeting their oil needs through the spot market, Reuters reports.

State-owned Indian Oil has announced a tender for oil purchases, while conglomerate Reliance Industries has increased spot purchases.

The EU, UK, and US have imposed a series of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine, including new US sanctions on Thursday that target two of Russia's largest oil companies, Lukoil (LKOH.MM) and Rosneft (ROSN.MM).

Indian refineries are preparing to sharply reduce their imports of Russian oil to comply with new US sanctions, potentially removing a key obstacle to a trade deal with the United States.

Last week, Reliance, India's largest buyer of Russian oil, said it would comply with the sanctions while maintaining relationships with its existing suppliers. The company plans to halt oil imports from Rosneft.

"We haven't yet placed orders for new shipments and have cancelled some bookings with traders linked to sanctioned entities," said one source.

"We need to ensure that our purchases are not linked to sanctioned entities, otherwise the banks won't process the payments," added another source.

Another source said their company is waiting to see if it can obtain cargo from unsanctioned traders or entities.

India purchased 40% of Russia's total exports.

Photo: slovoidilo.ua.