US sanctions on Russian oil to hit China and India hard

Fresh US sanctions on Moscow’s oil sector will severely curb Russian fossil fuel exports to India and China, analysts said.

Beijing and New Delhi became the largest buyers of Russian crude after the European Union pulled back following the invasion of Ukraine.

The new sanctions — Washington’s toughest yet — will likely force New Delhi and Beijing to look to the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas for alternatives, Reuters reported: One Singapore-based trader said Russian crude shipments to China are “going to drop off a cliff.”

The impending scramble will almost certainly push up both oil and shipping prices, Russian economy outlet The Bell wrote, as the outgoing Biden administration has “nothing to lose” politically from the fallout.