India’s Russian oil imports rose by more than 7% in March from February as refiners snapped up cheaper oil, data from trade flow tracking agencies Kpler and LSEG shows.
Refiners in India have been gorging on Russian oil since the West shunned purchases form Moscow and imposed sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The data shows that Russia continued to be the top oil supplier to India followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, cut monthly purchases from Saudi Arabia in March and raised those from Iraq, the data showed.
Because of the challenges posed by sanctions, India’s Russian oil imports are expected to decline in coming months. The nation is set to receive about 1.25 million barrels per day in April, a drop of about 9% from March, according to LSEG data.