Oil traders to cut Russian oil purchases from May 15

LONDON: Major global trading houses are planning to reduce crude and fuel purchases from Russia’s state-controlled oil companies as early as May 15, to avoid falling foul of European Union sanctions on Russia, according to sources.

The European Union (EU) has not imposed a ban on imports of Russian oil in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because some countries such as Germany are heavily dependent on Russian oil and do not have the infrastructure in place to swap to alternatives.