Med crude-Urals diffs stable amid market uncertainty

MOSCOW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Urals crude differentials to dated Brent remained unchanged as rising uncertainty about the future of Russian oil supply slowed down the trade.

U.S. President Donald Trump said again on Friday that India was not going to buy Russian oil anymore.

U.S. and European pressure on Asian buyers of Russian energy could restrict India's oil imports from December, leading to cheaper supplies for China, while Japan is unlikely to halt its Sakhalin liquefied natural gas shipments for now, trade sources and analysts said.

India is the biggest buyer of Russian Urals oil. Its refineries buy over 60% of the grade's exports.

The European Union has set a requirement for fuel importers into the bloc to prove their fuels are not made from Russian crude, according to a document published on Thursday.

The new restrictions, to come into force in January, may further complicate Russian oil sales.

PLATTS WINDOW

• No bids or offers were reported in the Platts window on Friday for Urals, Azeri BTC or CPC Blend crude.

NEWS

• Two Indian refiners have bought 4 million barrels of Guyanese crude oil from U.S. major Exxon Mobil XOM.N to be delivered at the end of 2025 or in early 2026, in rare imports from the South American producer, trade sources said on Friday.

• Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that Russia had scrapped a duty on fuel imports, but saw no immediate need for buying fuel from abroad, according to Rossiya 1 TV station.