Russia Now 4th Largest Oil Supplier To India As Cheap Oil Proves Lucrative, US Share Halves

Russia became the fourth-largest oil exporter to India in April as low prices spur demand from one of the world’s largest oil consumers and importers, according to Refinitiv data.

The tanker tracking data showed that Russia's share in India's oil purchases rose to a record 6% in April — to stand at 277,000 barrels per day (BPD), up from about 66,000 BPD in March, Reuters first reported.

In the same period, African oil in India's overall oil imports declined to about 6% in April from 14.5% in March, while that of the U.S. was almost halved to 3%.

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The western sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow has dubbed a "special operation," have prompted many oil importers around the globe to shun trade with Moscow, pushing the country's crude discount to other grades to record levels.

While many European buyers have bought higher volumes of African and U.S. oil since the Russia-Ukraine war, Indian companies have continued to buy stranded Russian oil. The country's top refiner, Indian Oil Corp., bought its first-ever Russian Arco oil cargo last month.

India's oil imports from Russia are predicted to rise further in May to about 487,500 BPD as the refiners have ramped up purchases from the Vladimir Putin-ruled country.

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