Trump says India 'assured' him it will stop Russian oil purchases

India has told the US it will soon stop purchasing Russian oil, US President Donald Trump said Oct. 15.

Speaking to reporters at a White House event, Trump said he and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi continue to have a positive relationship despite trade tensions centered on India's Russian oil imports, and that Modi recently "assured" Trump the country would soon cease purchases Trump has said fuel Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"He has assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia," Trump said. "Maybe that's a breaking story, I don't know. Can I say that? There will be no oil -- he's not buying oil from Russia."

Crude oil futures rebounded from five-month lows in midmorning trading in Asia on Oct. 16, after Trump's statement on India. At 11:36 am Singapore time (0336 GMT), the ICE December Brent futures contract was up 48 cents/b (0.78%) day over day at $62.39/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet crude contract rose 51 cents/b (0.88%) from the previous close to $58.78/b.

The Indian government has so far not officially responded to the statement by Trump.

India's crude imports from Russia averaged 1.68 million b/d in Q3, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, a figure that continued to make the South Asian country the world's largest buyer of Russian exports. However, that figure represented a 13% drop from Q2, as Indian refiners diversified their crude baskets, including increased volumes from Colombia and the UAE.

Russia remains India's largest crude supplier.

"It's started," Trump said, referring to India's diversification of supply. "You can't do it immediately -- it's a little bit of a process. But the process is going to be over with soon."

In February, Trump announced that India had agreed to purchase more US-produced oil and gas, seeking to "restore the US as a leading supplier to India." Since then, even as US exports have increased, India has continued to purchase Russian supplies at a discount outside a US-led sanctions price cap.

In August, Trump criticized India for not caring "how many people in Ukraine are being killed," and doubled US tariffs on Indian exports from 25% to 50%.

"If India doesn't buy oil, it makes (peace) a lot easier," Trump said at the White House Oct. 15. "They have assured me that within a short period of time they will not be buying oil from Russia. And they can go back to Russia after the war's over."