Oil rises after Trump's comments on India stopping buying Russian crude

Oil prices rose from their lowest levels in five months after US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to end his country’s purchases of Russian oil, a move that could lead to a tightening of global supplies. Brent crude traded above $62 a barrel after falling 2.2% in the previous two sessions, while West Texas Intermediate settled near $59 a barrel. Trump has not provided a specific timetable for India to stop buying Russian oil, and there has been no official confirmation from New Delhi yet. India, along with its neighbor China, is one of the countries to benefit the most from the deep discount on Russian oil available under the price ceiling mechanism introduced by the Group of Seven aimed at keeping supplies flowing while restricting Moscow’s access to funds financing its war in Ukraine. But senior US officials have accused Indian companies of making excessive profits from these purchases, which have been a major bone of contention in the trade talks New Delhi wants to accelerate with Washington. India’s commerce minister said on Wednesday that his country could buy an additional $15 billion worth of oil from the United States. “It’s definitely positive news,” said Mukesh Sahdev, founder and chief executive officer of Sydney-based analyst firm Exanalysts, explaining that in recent months India has bought about three times the amount of oil from Russia compared to the United States, and that it will need alternative sources from Middle Eastern countries to completely stop those purchases. New British sanctions and increasing pressure on Moscow. At the same time, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on the largest oil producers in Russia, and on two Chinese energy companies, in addition to the Indian refining company, Nayara Energy, because of its dealings with Russian fuel. This move comes as the West tightens its stranglehold on the Russian energy sector with the aim of limiting the flow of oil revenue to the Kremlin, and undermines President Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Crude prices fell this month as trade tensions rose between the US and China, raising concerns about demand at the world’s biggest oil consumer, and with global trading companies announcing that the long-awaited surplus had already started to appear. Trump has said he believes the United States is locked in a trade war with China, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Besent seeks to extend the period of delay in imposing high tariffs on Chinese goods to resolve the dispute related to essential minerals. Meanwhile, an industry report showed US oil inventories rose by 7.4 million barrels last week, in what could be the biggest increase since July if confirmed by official data expected to be released later on Thursday.