Chinese firms risk US sanctions as they buy cut-price Russian oil Business

ggood morning.

Chinese companies seem to be riding close to the wind in stealthily grabbing Russian oil at heavily discounted prices.

The country’s independent oil refineries have continued to make deals with Russian oil suppliers since the start of the war, but have stopped reporting them, reports the Financial Times.

Publicly, the country’s state-owned energy companies have halted new contracts. But purchases by independent refineries suggest China is finding other ways to access cheap oil without attracting public attention.

The move risks pushing the US to introduce secondary sanctions to cut off Kremlin revenue. The US and UK have already banned imports of Russian oil, while the EU is set to introduce a phased ban.

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What happened overnight

Asian markets were mixed in thinning holiday trade.

At around 02:30 GMT, the Hang Seng index was down 0.8% and the yen at 130.09.

The Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite were closed for the holidays.

coming today

• Business : Boohoo Group (full year); Aston Martin Lagonde (temporary); Direct Line, Flutter Entertainment, JD Wetherspoon, OSB Group (commercial statement)
• Economy: Fed interest rate decision (WE)Compound PMI (US, EU)PMI services (US, EU)retail (EU)mortgage approvals (UK)evolution of ADP employment (WE)