India, which ignores the US and the EU, will expand its imports of Russian coal

Sao Paulo – India is preparing to strongly expand its coal purchases in defiance of Western sanctions on Russia. Last week, US President Joe Biden signed an “executive order” banning the import of Russian coal from crude oil, petrol, petroleum products, oils and liquefied petroleum gas. Determination is part of the new sanctions Moscow’s “military operation” In Ukraine. Although the EU discussed Russia’s ban on energy imports, including coal, there was no consensus at the meeting on further sanctions.

In March, India purchased 1.04 million tonnes of Russian coal, the highest in two years, according to Matthew Boyle, chief analyst at commodity intelligence firm Kpler, citing the commercial channel CNBC. In the same month, the Indians said they were in talks to buy Russian oil, which was reported to the country’s parliament by the government. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, after the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“Markets suspect that India and China may increase coal imports from Russia, which could offset some of the impact of a formal EU embargo on Russian coal imports,” said Vivek Thar, director of mining and energy products at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. . RT Friday (14th).

It is currently the sixth largest economy in the world, after India, the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. According to market forecasts, the country’s nominal GDP is expected to grow from $ 2.7 trillion in 2021 to $ 8.4 trillion in 2030.

Last week, Indian Steel Minister Ramachandra Prasad Singh said Russia was trying to double imports of coking coal, essential for steel production. According to the International Energy Agency’s 2021 estimate, coal accounts for about 70% of India’s electricity generation. It is the second largest consumer and importer of coal after China.

On Monday, China said the United States was using sanctions against Russia to maintain “dominance” and create “illegal gains”. “The increase in sanctions is not helping to alleviate the situation, but is creating new problems for the world amid epidemics,” the report said. Chinese Foreign Mystery SpokesmanZhao Legion.

National currencies against the dollar

According to Mikhail Evtokimov, head of the first department of the Commonwealth of Independent States of Russia, the Eurasian Economic Union (UEE) is trying to drop US dollar payments. The UEE is made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

“There is a significant focus on the increased use of national currencies in mutual payments and the abandonment of the use of the dollar,” Evdokimov said. According to him, the use of national currencies in the EEU’s mutual payments has already exceeded 70%, even before the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West and the banking sector. Sputnik Brazil.

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