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West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Oil price moves little after registering slight gains in the previous session, trading around $58.20 per barrel during the Asian hours on Thursday. Crude Oil prices may gain ground as United States (US) President Donald Trump announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged his country would stop buying Russian Oil, per Reuters.

Trump said during a White House event, “So I was not happy that India was buying Oil, and Modi assured me today that they will not be buying Oil from Russia.” Trump recently criticized India’s Russian Oil imports, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to deter its crude purchases from Moscow.

Trump also added that the US would next seek to pressure China to curb Russian Oil imports, aiming to cut Moscow’s energy revenues and push it toward a peace deal in Ukraine. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he informed Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato in Washington that the Trump administration expects Japan to halt Russian energy imports.

According to another Reuters report, the United Kingdom (UK) imposed new sanctions on Russia’s top Oil firms, Lukoil and Rosneft, along with 44 shadow fleet tankers, aiming to tighten energy restrictions and curb Kremlin revenues. Both companies face asset freezes, director bans, transport limits, and restrictions on British trust services under the UK’s Russia sanctions laws.

UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves stated during a US trip that "We are introducing targeted sanctions against the two biggest oil companies in Russia, Lukoil and Rosneft." "At the same time, we are ramping up pressure on companies in third countries, including India and China, that continue to facilitate getting Russian oil onto global markets."

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