Kolkata: Discounts appear to be deepening on Russian crude and it could induce Indian refineries to import more crude from Russia, even as US President Donald Trump holds out his threat of continuing with the 50% punitive tariffs and India and the US negotiators try to wade through the troubled diplomatic waters to thrash out a bilateral trade deal.

Reports state that the discount on Urals crude which could be loaded in November stood at $2-to-$2.50 per barrel to Dated Brent. The former, therefore, clearly becomes more attractive to the Indian refineries. The discount that was available on Russian crude in the July-August period was about $1 a barrel, which has been attributed to the fact that Russia had given priority to domestic customers. But the discounts for the November contracts a

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