The United States has renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month. The Trump administration's waiver comes two days after saying it had no plans to do so. This replaces the 30-day waiver that expired on April 11.

The Treasury Department posted the license to its website late on Friday, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16.Check Live UpdatesHere

Earlier on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil.

The US Treasury Department had earlier allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels through a waiver on May 16, for 30 days, that expired on April 11.

The new extension is among efforts to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz for the US and its allies.

The extension gives Indian refiners the room to maintain imports without immediate legal or financial risks. During the earlier waiver, the imports from Russia had surged, according to a report.

India's crude oil purchases from Russia more than tripled to 5.3 billion euros in March as volumes doubled and a surge in oil prices pushed up the import bill. European think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), in a report, said after a drop in purchases in February, India was back to a buying binge in March.

"India was the second-highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026, importing a total of EUR 5.8 billion of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil products constituted 91 per cent of India's purchases, totalling EUR 5.3 billion," it said.

Coal (EUR 337 million) and oil products (EUR 178.5 million) constituted the remainder of their monthly imports.

In February, India was the third largest importer, purchasing Russian hydrocarbons worth 1.8 billion euro. Crude oil constituted the largest share at 81 per cent (EUR 1.4 billion), followed by coal (EUR 223 million) and oil products (EUR 121 million).

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