India's purchases of discounted Russian crude reach 11-month low

India's purchase of discounted Russian crude oil has fallen to an 11-month low with the rise in prices, said AFP citing figures from global energy trade intelligence platform Kpler. India had continued to purchase Russian oil even after Western sanctions on Russia and had made it clear that it would make decisions as per its national interests.

However, the oil purchase has fallen after production cuts from OPEC+ and increased demand from China made the prices go up.

As per figures with Kpler,refiners in India purchased 1.45 million barrels per day of Russian oil last month. This is the lowest figure since last January.

Viktor Katona lead crude analyst at Kpler told AFP that "interplay between India and China" was a key factor behind the 11-month low "as both countries now vie for the same barrels".

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India's purchase of millions of barrels of Russian oil since the start of the Ukraine war has placed India in second place on the list of countries buying the most oil from Russia after China. India has saved billions of dollars because of the discounted prices.

The purchases from both countries so far have helped Russia. Russian oil is now trading at USD 85 per barrel, much above the USD 60 price cap imposed by Western sanctions a year ago.

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In 10 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, India saved USD 3.6 billion by purchasing discounted Russian oil, as per figures presented in the Parliament of India.

India's purchases hit a high at over two million bpd (barrels per day) in May last year. But they have gone down since.

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The Indian government, however, maintains that the reason behind the drop in oil purchases is price-driven and not political.

"If they don't offer us a discount, why would we buy from them," Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters last week.

"India's leadership has only one requirement: that the Indian consumer gets the energy at the most economical price, without disruption," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)