India’s Russian oil imports at 6-month high in November 2025, U.S. imports jump too

India’s Russian oil imports rose to a six-month high in terms of both volume and value in November 2025, with the latest official data showing its share in India’s overall oil imports rising to 35%. 

This comes at a time when there has been little progress in finalising a tariff deal with the U.S. However, at the same time, India has also increased its purchases of American oil, which jumped to a seven-month high in November 2025, with the U.S. accounting for nearly 13% of India’s oil imports that month. 

Together, Russia and the U.S. together accounted for nearly half of India’s oil imports in November 2025.

Increasing Russian oil

The latest data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that India imported 7.7 million tonnes of oil from Russia in November 2025, 35.1% of India’s total oil imports that month.  

This amount is nearly 7% higher than the amount imported in November 2024 and is the highest since May 2025. 

In value terms, India imported $3.7 billion worth of Russian oil in November 2025, 34% of India’s total oil import bill that month.

Frustration over tariff deal

The stated reason the U.S. in August 2025 hiked tariffs on India’s imports from 25% to 50% was as a ‘penalty’ for its imports of Russian oil. This is despite the fact that, in seven of the eight months leading up to August, India had cut its Russian oil imports on a year-on-year basis. 

According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, there is growing frustration in the government over the fact that, despite India showing it is cutting Russian oil imports, there has been little progress on addressing the tariff issue.

“India has already presented its final offer to the U.S. and the negotiators have done what they can,” the official said on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue. “The matter is now pending before their [the U.S.’] leadership and nothing seems to be moving there.”

Balancing U.S. interests

However, despite these apparent frustrations, India is continuing to walk a fine path to balance U.S. interests. 

India’s oil imports from the U.S. jumped to a seven-month high of nearly 2.8 million tonnes and $1.4 billion in November 2025. As a result, the U.S. saw its share in Indian oil imports jump to 12.6% in November 2025 from 4.2% and 5.1% a month and a year earlier, respectively.

“If the U.S. is serious about the [India-U.S.] partnership, it should first cut the punitive tariff on Indian exports from 50% to 25%, especially since the Russian oil issue — the stated trigger — has already been resolved,” Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative and former Director General of Foreign Trade for the Indian government, said.