India imported about 523,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in August, down 32 percent on a month earlier, preliminary tanker arrival data showed, as the United States steps up pressure on buyers to halt Iranian energy imports from November. FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oilfields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo Some of the shipments were loaded in July and arrived in August, the data obtained by Reuters from trade sources showed. The August 2018 imports were still 56 percent higher than the same month last year, the data showed, as state refiners were attracted by discounts offered by Iran this year. Annual import plans by Indian state refiners for 2018/2019 were finalized before President Donald Trump’s decision in May to withdraw from a 2015 international […]