Indian banks recommend refineries not to buy Russian oil more expensive than the price ceiling imposed by Western countries – $60 per barrel. This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources. Earlier, Reuters reported that some banks in India have refused to make such payments

The agency recalls that after the recent decision of OPEC + to reduce oil production by 1.7 million barrels per day, fuel prices soared. Bloomberg wrote that the increase in prices for Russian fuel “causes concern” among Indian banks.

The head of one of India’s refineries told the agency that the State Bank of India and the Bank of Baroda have informed the local refineries that they will not make payments for oil purchased above the established Western limit. The source noted that Indian banks “closely monitor” prices at loading ports before adding shipping and logistics costs.

Brent is currently priced at $87.5 a barrel and Russia’s Urals brand is $68 a barrel. At the end of March, they were trading at around $75 and $50, respectively.

Crude oil imports from Russia to India hit a new high of 1.64 million barrels a day in March this year, Bloomberg reported, citing data from analyst firm Vortexa. Thus, Russia is the largest oil supplier to India for the sixth month in a row. According to Vortexa, India imported only 68,600 barrels of oil a day from Russia in March last year.

Earlier we reported that production cuts led to a drop in oil prices.