India could continue to buy Russian crude: Finance Minister

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India could explore buying Russian crude oil past the price cap imposed by the G-7. Sitharaman told an international wire service in Washington that India has a large population and therefore has to look at prices that are going to be affordable for the country.

The South Asian nation needs to constantly look for the best deal since it imports almost 80% of its crude oil requirements. “For us, it is a very critical input for the economy," she added. The impact on fuel prices of OPEC+’s output cut and the spillover of all the decisions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine is “the two main things which I think I’d be more worried about than anything internal,” she said.

Earlier, Indian officials had said that the country was unlikely to breach sanctions on Russia including the price cap. On these sanctions, she said, "I think we should look at it more with humanity in mind. I hope the intent is not to hurt economies which have nothing to do with the war.”

She added that the unintended consequences of these measures should not be borne by the global south. She also said possible recessions in the US or other developed countries could be a drag on India by hurting exports, particularly manufacturing.

FM said some countries can begin to somewhat decouple from the Federal Reserve, which has led the global drive to hike interest rates to curb inflation.  A pause in tightening can help growth momentum in certain countries, which can respond to their economic challenges with a bit more sense of what is most suitable for them, she added.