Oil was steady as the market weighed the outlook for Russian crude flows to India after a Trump administration official ramped up his criticism over the trade ahead of an expected tariff increase.West Texas Intermediate was near $63 a barrelheading for a modest weekly gain. Brent closed below $68. White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said India “doesn’t appear to want to recognize its role in the bloodshed,” adding that he sees US import levies on the nation doubling as scheduled on Aug. 27.
President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the duties on Indian imports to the US to 50%, half of which would be due to purchases of Russian crude. Still, oil refiners in the South Asian nation have returned to buying after a brief pause, while an official from Moscow expects flows to be maintained.
Earlier this week, Navarro claimed that the surge in Russian imports since the war in Ukraine was driven by “profiteering by India’s Big Oil lobby” and not domestic needs. Oil is still lower for the year as OPEC+ ramps up production and Trump’s trade policies to spark concerns over demand.
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