Indian refiners unlikely to halt Russia crude buys

Indian refinery executives see little chance of the government ordering a halt to Russian oil purchases despite America’s penalty, as India hardens its stance on US trade negotiations.

“The message from the government is ‘country first, commerce later’,” an industry executive said, interpreting this as the primacy of trade negotiations over short-term economic pain. India has dug in on talks with US, and conceding on crude would only invite further demands, executives and officials said, adding that focus is on projecting strength. PM Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and commerce minister Piyush Goyal have all signalled that India would rather absorb the blow to exporters than bow to US pressure.