【Russia Further Lowers Oil Prices, Is India Benefiting?】
According to a report by Bloomberg, after the news of the US-India trade agreement emerged, Russia also took new actions. In recent days, Russia has increased oil sale discounts to Indian refineries to encourage them to purchase.
A Indian trader involved in purchasing Russian oil said that the latest quote for Urals crude oil is more than $10 per barrel cheaper than Brent crude. Indian traders also specifically mentioned that this discount includes shipping costs and other expenses. A energy analysis company believes that the actual price of Urals crude may be $11 cheaper than global oil prices, and the oil prices from the Middle East, the United States, and Venezuela cannot compete with it.
It is worth noting that India is well-known for its "love of small gains." In recent years, due to the discount on Urals crude, India purchased a large amount of it, which eventually caught the attention of Trump. Now that Urals crude has dropped again, Indian oil buyers are very tempted. This is a significant discount. In January, 1.1 million barrels of Russian oil flowed into the Indian market. If calculated based on this quantity, India can save over $10 million a day on oil purchases, which would exceed $300 million a month. If we take the peak number of 2 million barrels purchased by India, the savings could nearly double.
Although the price of Russian oil is very tempting, the key now lies in Modi's attitude: will he still allow the purchase? Trump said that India no longer buys Russian oil, but Modi remains silent and has not issued an "oil procurement ban" from Russia. Everything is very vague, and Indian traders are now anxious and are demanding clear answers from Modi.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856281220628544/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.