India to continue buying ‘cheap’ Russian oil, discount to be finalised – source

• India will continue to buy “cheap oil” from Russia but has not finalised terms of the discount, a senior government official familiar with the matter said.
• “We will get cheap oil from Russia,” the government official told reporters, adding that the average price at which the world’s third largest oil importer buys crude is currently above USD100 a barrel.
• With concerns that conventional payment routes could be blocked due to Western sanctions on Moscow, including on banks, work was ongoing to set up a rupee-rouble trade mechanism to facilitate transactions, the official said.
• Without elaborating further, the official added that no final decision had been taken and all possible ways to pay for goods were still under discussion.
• The official also said India was increasing its dependence on coal due to surging power demand, adding that state-run Coal India will produce more coal in the coming months.

External Link : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-continue-buying-cheap-russian-oil-discount-be-finalised-source-2022-05-25/