Indian buyers are starting to pay in RMB for Russia | US dollars | India
According to Reuters on July 3rd, as Western economic sanctions force Moscow and its trading clients to seek alternative payment methods to the US dollar, insiders say that several Indian refineries have started using the Chinese yuan to pay for some of the crude oil imported from Russia.
According to reports, Indian Oil Company is the largest buyer of Russian crude oil in India, becoming the first state-owned refinery in India to pay for part of Russian crude oil in Chinese yuan in June this year.
Two sources revealed that at least two of India's three private refineries are also using Chinese yuan to pay for some Russian crude oil.
At present, none of these three private refineries have responded to Reuters' request for comment. The state-owned Indian oil company also did not respond.
Sources say that it is currently known that Indian oil companies have paid for the crude oil of multiple oil tankers in Chinese yuan, but it is uncertain how much Russian crude oil has been purchased by Indian refineries in Chinese yuan.
▲ Information image: Employees at a gas station in the Indian capital New Delhi are updating prices.
The report points out that for a long time, the US dollar has been the main currency for crude oil trading in the world, but Russia has been excluded from the financial network of the US dollar and the euro due to the multinational sanctions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The report cites a government source in India who stated that if banks are unwilling to settle in US dollars, some Indian refineries will also pay Russia's crude oil in non US dollar currencies such as the Chinese yuan or UAE dirhams.
According to reports, the Indian Ministry of Oil and Ministry of Finance, which have been trying to persuade Russia to accept rupee payments for oil costs, have not responded to requests for comment.
According to a report by the Indian Economic Times on July 2nd, the crude oil trading volume between India and Russia in June reached a historic high of 2.2 million barrels per day, rising for 10 consecutive months. India's import of Russian crude oil once again exceeds the combined amount of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.