Global crude benchmarks slipped on Tuesday, stabilizing after touching a three-week high the previous session, as markets digested the looming escalation of U.S.-India trade tensions.
Brent crude was last trading at $68.48 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate hovered at $64.46, both retreating modestly from Monday’s close.
The pullback comes as traders assess the fallout from Washington’s decision to impose an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports beginning Wednesday—a move that will effectively double the duties to 50% on all goods shipped from India to the U.S.
The Trump administration has framed the tariffs as a lever to pressure New Delhi into curbing purchases of discounted Russian crude, which have surged since Western sanctions reshaped global oil flows. Indian refiners, lured by deep price cuts and flexible payment terms, have become among Moscow’s most reliable buyers, helping to cushion Russia’s export revenues despite Western embargoes.
For India, the new duties threaten to undercut a critical export market at a time when its trade balance is already under strain from elevated energy imports. For Washington, the gambit underscores a broader strategy of using trade weapons to reinforce its foreign policy aims—a tactic that risks alienating a key strategic partner in Asia.
Markets now face a delicate balancing act: how India will respond to Washington’s tariff offensive, and whether energy cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi deepens further in defiance of U.S. pressure.