Why India is buying more Russian oil

After US and China, India is the third largest consumer of oil, over 80% of which is imported. In 2021, the country bought about 12 million barrels of oil from Russia, which is just about 2% of its imports.

Russia is seeking to sell its discounted oil to new markets as Western sanctions choke the country's economy - and India is taking advantage of these discounts.

In January and February, India did not import any oil from Russia. But since then, orders for six million barrels have already been placed, says Kpler, a commodities research group.

The Indian government says it is "still a drop, literally a drop, in a larger bucket" of its oil imports globally.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, there were fewer buyers for Russia's Ural crude oil, and its price has fallen.

Analysts at Kpler say that while the exact price is not known, the Urals discount to Brent crude - which is the global benchmark for crude - widened to $30 per barrel.

This depreciation in the price of Ural "means that India and China are likely to purchase at least some of this [Russian] crude at a significant discount," says Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler.

Source: BBC