A resurgence in Saudi Arabian supplies of crude oil to India coupled with an attack on an Iraqi tanker in August carrying crude to Europe may result in improved bargaining power for India with West Asian and Russian suppliers for winter supplies. Shipments of Saudi oil rebounded in September from August, surging to the highest since March while Russian oil shipments rose marginally as Saudi Arabia tried to claw back market share in Asia, according to industry sources and ship tracking data.
The US is "pretty close" to reaching a "fair trade deal" with India, President Donald Trump has said, adding that he will lower the tariffs imposed on Indian goods at "some point".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Russian President Vladimir Putin for a private dinner and summit, focusing on defence, trade, and geopolitical issues, including the Ukraine conflict and the impact of US sanctions.
Trump spoke approvingly of his recent telephone conversation with Xi Jinping. This could indicate the possibility of America and China reaching some level of tactical accommodation, which would not be good news for India, points out Ambassador Shyam Saran, a former foreign secretary.
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
A decline in demand from six of India's top 10 import partners -- China, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, South Korea, Australia, and Singapore -- resulted in India's imports hitting a 17-month low of $50.6 billion in January, showed the data compiled by the department of commerce. Shipments from South Korea, Australia, and Singapore declined by 14.1 per cent, 26.7 per cent, and 9.8 per cent, respectively. Among the 10, growth in inbound shipment was seen only in the case of the United Arab Emirates (12.1 per cent), the US (27.4 per cent), Russia (297.4 per cent), and Indonesia (22.9 per cent).
On President Putin's two-day trip to India, Jaishankar said for a "big" and "rising" country like India, it is important to maintain good cooperation with as many important players as possible in the world in line with freedom of choice.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
India will soon meet Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seek a definitive rate of discount on crude oil similar to what Russia has provided so far, sources said. Multiple officials and industry executives said Iraq, which is India's biggest oil supplier, wants to discuss the level of discounts expected by Indian refiners. India's focus on snapping up ever-increasing volumes of Russian crude oil has led to a corresponding decline in imports from the Middle East. Flows from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have suffered as a result.
He added that India sells to the US, its biggest "client", "massive" amounts of goods, "but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades."
The importance of China as India's top trading partner cannot be understated.
With India making it clear that the US doesn't have enough spare capacity for crude oil, Washington, DC, now wants India to sign fixed-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with American producers, multiple sources in the know said.
The number of Indian obese adults increased from 5.76 million in 1991 to 46.78 million in 2021; it is poised to reach 173.73 million by 2050.
Former White House trade advisor Peter Navarro accuses India of being an 'oil money laundromat' for Russia, alleging that India's oil purchases are funding Putin's war in Ukraine. The accusations come amid existing trade tensions and tariffs imposed by the US.
The US has extended waivers that exempt nine countries, including India and China, from fully complying with American sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, citing their significant reduction in oil import from Tehran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to India in December, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said. Putin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China's Tianjin city to discuss the preparations for his visit to India.
Calling the community note on X "crap", Navarro alleged that Elon Musk is allowing "propaganda" and reiterated his accusations of India purchasing Russian oil only to make profits.
The Global Times, a prominent state-run Chinese media outlet, published an article titled "China and India are cooperation partners, not rivals: Xi," highlighting President Xi Jinping's remarks about the bilateral meeting, saying, "as long as the two countries stick to this overarching direction, China-India relations can sustain steady and long-term growth."
'Things may get much worse before they get better,' predicts Ajay Chhibber.
New Delhi has reached out to Moscow while waiting for a new president in Washington. New Delhi knows well that in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent national interests, points out Dr Rup Narayan Das.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
India-US relations, like Rome, were not built in a day, nor can they be demolished in a day.
All said and done, when the new global order emerges, India can only remain with the democracies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
US President Donald Trump has said that India should not be "dumping" rice into the United States market and he will "take care" of it, while stressing that tariffs will solve the "problem" easily.
'Modi's a great leader... But I don't understand why he's getting into bed with Putin and Xi Jinping...'
The US State Department has expressed concerns over India's trade imbalance with Washington and its purchase of Russian oil, emphasizing that President Trump has been clear with New Delhi on these issues.
'Don't look at Russia only as a place to earn quickly and then leave.' 'Try to build experience in serious companies, skills and certifications that will serve you anywhere in the world.'
Italy, Greece, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey also figure in the list released by Pompeo, who said over 20 countries have cut their oil imports from Iran, reducing purchases by more than one million barrels per day.
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
'An asset must generate income. Equities yield dividends, bonds pay coupons, deposits give interest, and real estate earns rent.' 'Gold, silver, and even Bitcoin produce no income, they merely store value. So, they should not be compared to productive assets.'
'...it should not delude itself into thinking that India's security or its great-power ambitions will be advanced by those partnerships.'
'Instead, what India should focus on is on riding out the next three-and-a-half years of Trump's presidency with minimal damage to itself.'
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says US tariffs are negatively impacting India, leading to job losses, and criticizes President Trump's diplomatic behavior.
Sullivan remarks come amid the rising friction between Washington and New Delhi due to the 50 percent tariffs imposed on Indian goods, which include a 25 percent penalty for buying Russian oil.
United States President Donald Trump once again mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said that the two countries can take their 'dead economies down together'.
State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), which operates India's strategic crude oil storage, will make awards by December to lease around 1 million tons of crude oil storage space (7.3 million barrels) at two of the country's three existing Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs), around a fifth of the total SPR capacity. This will enable the refilling of crude caverns even as escalating hostilities in the Gulf threaten disruptions in crude supplies, two industry sources said.
Trump said California has been particularly "hard hit" because of this, blaming democrat Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, for this loss, calling him "weak and incompetent."
Vance also hinted that the US may drop additional tariffs on countries if the US make a deal with Russia, and also apply more tariffs on the countries to bring this war to a close.
Notably, US President Donald Trump and his administration have continuously targeted India over its purchase of Russian crude oil. India, on the other hand, has always maintained that India's purchases are based on its domestic needs and economic security.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"I understood tariffs better than any human being in the world. And now with my tariffs, they were all dropping them. India was the most highly tariffed nation... And you know what, they've offered me no tariffs in India anymore. No tariffs," Trump said.
President Trump addresses questions about US imports from Russia and India's stance on purchasing Russian oil, hinting at potential tariffs.
