Reliance Joins IOC in Yuan Payments for Iran Oil as US Waiver Set to Expire

Indian refiners including state-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Reliance Industries are settling recent Iranian crude purchases in Chinese yuan routed via ICICI Bank’s Shanghai branch, per the latest Reuters report. The story broke on April 17 with IOC's 2 million barrel (~$200m) buy aboard the Jaya, paying 95% on notice of readiness under a temporary U.S. 30-day sanctions waiver for Russian and Iranian oil. The U.S. will not renew the waivers, with the Iranian exemption lapsing Sunday, potentially curbing sanctioned flows, tightening supply, and boosting prices amid rising yuan use in energy trade.