Russia offers oil to India at $35/bbl discount to pre-war price due to 9th time increase in fuel prices in 10 days.

According to Bloomberg, Russia has offered oil to India at a severe discount of $35 per barrel compared to pre-war rates, as rising international pressure reduces demand for its barrels elsewhere following the invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday morning, oil futures plummeted more than $5 a barrel on reports that the Biden administration is considering releasing 1 million barrels of oil per day from strategic reserves for several months to cool surging petroleum prices. Brent futures were down $4.71, or 4.2 percent, to $108.58 a barrel, while WTI futures in the United States were down $5.45, or 5%, to $102.74 a barrel.The news comes as oil stocks in the United States fell by 3.4 million barrels in the week ending March 25, above expectations of a 1 million barrel drop, while implied demand for gasoline and distillates fell as well. Meanwhile, a major increase in Indian oil imports from Russia might put New Delhi in jeopardy as the US prepares to tighten sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior US administration official. While current US sanctions against Russia do not preclude other countries from purchasing Russian oil, the warning raises the possibility that Washington will try to limit other countries' purchases to normal levels.The statement comes ahead of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's two-day visit to New Delhi, as well as US Deputy National Security Advisor for Economic Affairs Daleep Singh's current visit. This comes as the Russian ruble has recovered most of its losses and is now the world's best-performing currency. It is still on the rise, having risen 60% against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. On Tuesday, the ruble rose to 83 to the dollar intraday, up from a record low of 139 on March 7. The ruble is only around 10% lower than it was before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 thanks to a recent rise. The ruble was fluctuating in value.