No Europe? No Problem, Says Russia As It Steps Up Crude Oil Exports to Gas-Guzzling China

The Russia-Ukraine war that started in late 2022 has changed the oil market dynamics, with the power equation shifting in the process.

Windfall For China: Russia's oil exports to ally China rose to a record high in May, data from China's General Administration of Customs showed, according to Reuters. Russian crude imports to China totaled 9.71 million metric tons in May, translating to 2.29 million barrels per day.

This marked a record number and a 15.3% year-over-year increase and a 32.4% month-over-month jump, as China benefited from buying discounted sanctioned cargoes from Russia.

Private Chinese refiners such as Hengli Petrochemical were among the major exporters of Russian crude, Reuters said.

China is one of the biggest consumers of crude oil. With the reopening underway and the government stimuli to kickstart growth, oil demand is only likely to go higher.

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Europe Shuts Door: The development came amid Europe applying sanctions on Russian crude oil in protest of the latter's aggression in Ukraine.

Eurostat data released Monday showed that Russia's export of fuel to the European Union member states fell 90% year-over-year, Business Insider reported.

From average imports of 15.2 million tons of crude oil over the three years in the run-up to the Russia-Ukraine war, the number has dropped to 1.4 million tons. Europe has turned to the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to make up the shortfall.

The United States Oil Fund, LP USO edged up 0.44% to $64.20 in premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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