Reuters: Indian importers demand Russia to increase oil discounts to $10

Indian importers of Russian oil are demanding greater discounts from suppliers from Russia, as potential risks from trade with the country are growing. About writes Reuters, citing informed sources.

Buyers from India said Russia should increase discounts to around $10 per barrel to benchmark Brent prices to meet price cap levels as banks tightened controls over the divergence between EU and US policies on Russian oil.

It is noted that this is much more than the $2-3 per barrel discounts that were offered in September.

However, Moscow does not agree to such conditions and plans to redirect some of the October shipments to China.

As a result, supplies to India will decrease from 1.6 million barrels per day in September to 1.4 million in October, according to the agency's sources.

The final volume of Indian imports of Russian oil for October will become clearer when negotiations between buyers and sellers are finalized over the next two weeks.

At the same time, even with a discount of $10 per barrel in October, Russian crude oil will be sold to Indian buyers above the price ceiling of the EU and the UK ($47.60 per barrel).

Experts warn that compliance with the restrictions is weakening the differences between the US and the EU in sanctions policy. Meanwhile, Russia is actively using a "shadow fleet" of tankers and schemes with fake documents to sell oil above the price ceiling.

• On August 6, US President Donald Trump signed a decree introducing penalties against India for the purchase of Russian oil, and on August 27 doubled them.
• On August 14, it was reported that India's state-owned oil refiners renewed interest in purchasing Russian Urals oil after discounts on it increased significantly.