India’s import of crude from Russia touched $14.7 billion in the first quarter (April-June), up 25 per cent from $11.83 billion in the same period of the previous year, official data shows.
India bought $4.6 billion worth of Russian crude in June, down from $5.8 billion in May, data from the Commerce Department shows.
On a value basis, Russia’s share in India’s crude imports stood at 36.6 per cent in Q1, up slightly from 35.8 per cent in Q1 FY24. Meanwhile, the share rose every month in Q1, reaching 41.2 per cent in June, up from 36.6 per cent in May and 32.5 per cent in April.
In May, industry sources had told Business Standard that crude oil purchases in the first quarter (April-June) of FY25 would remain tilted towards Russia if Brent crude prices remained above $81/bbl. Prices had stayed above that level for almost the entirety of April, May, and most of June.
In Q1, India’s overall crude oil imports rose 22.3 per cent to $40.2 billion, up from $33 billion in Q1 FY24, official data shows. Crude from 22 countries reached India, compared to 24 countries in the year-ago period.
Industry sources say imports from Russia are set to rise in the coming months, even though Russian refiners are set to ramp up domestic fuel production. However, Russian shipments will face tough competition from crude supplies emanating from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, imports from which have risen by 90 per cent and 13.5 per cent on a volume basis in the first quarter of FY25.
July imports
While official figures are not available, the share of Russian crude in India’s imports stood at 40 per cent in July, estimates made by London-based commodity data analytics provider Vortexa, which tracks ship movements to estimate imports, show.
This was down from 42 per cent and 37 per cent in the two preceding months. The share has held relatively steady after falling to a low of 28 per cent in March.
This is due to the level of discounts remaining broadly stable in Q1, a refinery official said. It has remained in the range of $4-6/bbl in 2024 so far, he added. After shrinking for a few months in May 2023, the level of discount rebounded later in the year.
China continued to be the largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in July, accounting for 43 per cent of Russia’s monthly export earnings from the top five importers, a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) had pointed out last week.
Russian crude imports
Source: Commerce Department
Crude imports from Russia over the past one year
Source: Commerce Department
First Published: Aug 25 2024 | 5:25 PM IS