Major Oil Traders Cut Russian Crude Purchases Starting Next Month

Major crude trading houses are set to slash their purchases of Russian crude oil and crude products starting mid-May, anonymous Reuters sources said on Thursday. The move that will see a curtailment of Russian crude purchases comes as traders steer clear of any actions that would violate European sanctions against Russia that go into effect on May 15, although a ban on Russian crude oil does not currently exist. Still, traders are planning to cut their purchases of the pariah-spawned crude as they try to follow EU sanctions that restrict Russia’s…