India

India Says Russian Oil Imports Help Its Inflation Fight

 

India has admitted that importing Russian oil is part of the country’s inflation-management strategy with New Delhi claiming that it’s not alone in using the tactic.

The country’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the claim as India’s crude oil shipments from Russia were shown to have jumped to between 12% and 13% of its total imports since February – when Russia invaded Ukraine – from about 2% before then.

India is the world’s third-biggest consumer and importer of crude oil, and Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserved credit for balancing trade and other ties with various countries.

 

Also on AF: China Oil Demand Plunge a ‘Watershed Moment’

 

“I give credit to the statesmanship of the prime minister to make sure globally that we did keep up the relationship with all countries but yet managed to get the Russian fuel, which is what Japan is doing today, which is what some other countries are doing,” Sitharaman said at an event in New Delhi.

Despite Western pressure, India has failed to condemn Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, instead calling for a diplomatic solution to the crisis and an end to violence. Russia has for decades been India’s biggest foreign supplier of defence hardware.

Indian government ministers have repeatedly said the country needed to keep buying energy from Russia to keep inflation under check.

Indian retail prices in July were 6.71% higher than a year earlier. Although the annual inflation rate has now fallen for three months, it has exceeded the central bank’s tolerance band of 2% to 6% for seventh months in a row.

 

  • Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

 

Read more:

India Likely Selling Refined Russian Oil to West, Study Says

China and India Doubled Share of Russian Oil in a Year

India Sails to Rescue of Russian Oil Tankers Hit by Sanctions

 

 

Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.

Recent Posts

Local EVs Dominate as China’s Largest Auto Show Opens

Some 117 new models were unveiled – out of 278 new energy vehicles on display.…

28 mins ago

Nikkei Slides as US Tech Drags, Hang Seng Lifted by Market Bets

Technology stocks took a hot across the region after Facebook owner Meta predicted lower-than-expected quarterly…

36 mins ago

Huawei Revs Up Intelligent Driving Push With Software Launch

The Chinese tech firm has also launched seven EV models in partnership with domestic automakers…

19 hours ago

Country Garden Wins Onshore Bonds Payments Delay Approval

China’s largest private developer has already defaulted on $11 billion of offshore bonds amid a…

20 hours ago

TikTok Plans Legal Battle as US Senate Passes Divest-or-Ban Bill

Experts say that if a sale of TikTok does go through, it would be one…

22 hours ago

Tesla Profit Plunges, But Stock Jumps on Vow of ‘Affordable’ Cars

Shares jump 12% on news Tesla will make 'more affordable' EVs on its manufacturing lines,…

22 hours ago