By Jarrett Renshaw and Nidhi Verma
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, a White House official said, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen, as President Donald Trump's administration presses New Delhi and other nations to buy less Russian crude.
Russian oil is a main irritant for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India - half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. His administration says Moscow is using
petroleum revenue to fund its war in Ukraine.
The White House official told Reuters on Thursday that talks with an Indian delegation in Washington this week have been productive and that Indian refiners were already cutting Russian oil imports by 50%.
But Indian industry sources said on Friday that New Delhi had not informed refiners of any request to cut Russian imports.
TRUMP SAYS MODI PLEDGED TO HALT RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES
Refiners have already placed orders for November loading, including some cargoes for December arrival, so any cut could be visible in December or January import numbers, said the sources, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Indeed, India's imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.
The Indian oil ministry and refiners that buy Russian oil did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him on Wednesday that India would stop buying Russian oil. India's foreign ministry did not respond to Trump's assertion except to say it was not aware of any telephone conversation between the two leaders that day.
Still, India's oil minister on Thursday sought data on Russian oil imports from all the refiners, including their loadings and arrivals tied up for November and December.
Oil prices fell on Friday, with Brent crude futures down 48 cents, or 0.79%, to $60.58 a barrel at 0720 GMT, amid uncertainty over global supply as Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to discuss ending the war.
US-INDIA TRADE TALKS HAVE FLOUNDERED
India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of its neighbour.
New Delhi initially hoped to secure a quick trade deal with the U.S. due to Modi's warm relationship with Trump, but the talks have floundered and the president has slapped some of the highest levies in his global tariff regime on India's products.
When Modi visited Trump in February, India pledged to more than double its annual U.S. energy purchases to $25 billion, with both nations targeting $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
U.S. negotiators have said curbing India's Russian crude purchases would be crucial to reducing its tariff rate and sealing a trade deal. Indian refiners are looking to buy at least 10% of their liquefied petroleum gas needs from the U.S. to help narrow India's bilateral trade surplus, sources told Reuters this week.
Russia accounted for 36% of India's oil imports, some 1.75 million barrels per day, in the six months through September, trade data shows.
Moscow said on Thursday it was confident its energy partnership with India would continue. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia could supply oil more cheaply to countries that Trump is trying to persuade to stop buying Russian oil.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Chris Reese, Jamie Freed and William Mallard)
