India becomes Russia’s top oil purchaser in July

New Delhi, August 22

India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data showed.

Russian crude made up a record 44% of India’s overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago, data on Indian shipments from trade and industry sources showed.

That surpassed China’s July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million bpd via pipelines and shipments, based on Chinese customs data.

Indian refiners have been gorging on Russian oil sold at discounts after Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow and curtailed their energy purchases in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

India’s trade with Russia has increased since Russia began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 mainly because of oil and fertiliser imports.