• Russian oil shipments to India fell by 420,000 barrels per day, the International Energy Agency reported.

• Falling output has clipped Russia’s month-to-month power income, which slid almost 1% from January.

• Western sanctions are driving India’s pull again, as they erode Russia’s crude low cost.

India pulled again on buying Russian crude in February, as Western sanctions took a toll on commerce between the 2 nations.

Oil shipments to India fell by 420,000 barrels per day, totalling 1.2 million barrels imported each day, in response to the newest report from the International Energy Agency.

New Delhi’s strained demand contributed to a slip in Russian crude income for the month. Reduced oil and oil product exports earned Moscow almost 1% lower than in January, notching $15.69 billion final month.

Though consistent with December’s income, Russia’s world crude shipments fell to 4.75 million barrels per day, beneath a year-end peak of 5 million barrels per day.

Partially offsetting decrease output had been rising crude costs, with Urals, the benchmark Russian crude combine, rising over $4 per barrel in February.

However, Indian patrons have turned away from Russia for this identical motive, provided that discounted barrels had been the main driver behind New Delhi’s demand. In 2023, India grew to become the largest purchaser of Russian seaborne crude, as Western sanctions eroded Russian costs.

Now, Indian refineries are transferring away from long-term contract offers with Russia, and the nation’s largest state-owned firm, Indian Oil, is considering a lower of Russian crude in its long-term supply.

It’s a shift spawned by tighter enforcement of Western sanctions this yr, because the US and its allies penalize entities that breach restrictions, such because the $60-a-barrel worth cap on Russian crude.

In February, the US adopted up with a slew of new sanctions, including to freight prices and diminishing the oil low cost, Indian sources beforehand informed Reuters.

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Such components are a key motive India has already began turning again to its conventional power commerce with the Middle East, particularly after Saudi Arabia supplied its personal crude low cost in January.

That identical month, Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri warned that commerce would shift away from Russia if sanctions had been violated.

“When Russian prices don’t conform, we buy from Iraq, the UAE, Saudi Arabia,” he then said.

But whereas India backed down by way of February, shipments to China rose to 2.2 million barrels a day, marking a month-on-month soar of 100,000 barrels per day, the IEA mentioned.

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