India and China virtually stop buying russian oil due to latest US sanctions — Reuters

The latest U.S. sanctions against the aggressor country russia have led to India and China almost completely stopping buying russian oil.

It was reported by Reuters.

In early January, the U.S. imposed a large package of sanctions against russia. The supply chains of russian oil have come under attack from Washington.

According to the agency, the sanctions have led to a large price gap between buyers and sellers in China.

In addition, the cost of freight for tankers that were not affected by the U.S. sanctions has increased by several million dollars.

As a result of the U.S. sanctions, March offers for russian ESPO oil jumped to USD 3-5 per barrel above the ICE Brent price on a ship-to-ship basis in China.

Before the January sanctions, strong winter demand and stronger prices for competing Iranian crudes had pushed spot premiums for ESPO Blend crude to China to nearly USD 2 per barrel. This is the highest since the 2022 war in Ukraine, which led to discounts of up to USD 6.

As for India, the CFO of Bharat Petroleum Corporation told Reuters that his company did not receive new offers for oil deliveries in March, as is usually the case.

According to him, the company expects the number of cargoes offered for March to decrease compared to January and December.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on January 10, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions against russia. The restrictions affected Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, tankers of the "shadow fleet", oil traders and a number of companies.

According to Reuters, the U.S. sanctions have affected 143 tankers from russia's "shadow fleet". In 2024, these vessels accounted for 42% of russia's total oil exports by sea.