Indian dependence on Russia’s crude surged to a record in July, with shipments from the country making up 50.83% of imports by the third-biggest oil buyer and consumer, or 2.47 million barrels per day, according to data from trade sources.
India’s July imports of Russian oil were up 62.4% from a year earlier, but down 4.8% from June’s record figure of 2.6 million bpd, the data showed.
Russia’s share of India’s crude imports hit a record 43.25% in the first four months of the financial year that began in April, averaging more than 2 million bpd, up from a share of about 37% a year earlier, the data revealed.
Crude oil prices decline as tankers laden with crude continued to exit the Persian Gulf, despite persistant threats and limited progress on a deal between Iran and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The two benchmarks dropped more than 2 percent yesterday, snapping a multi-day rally for both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI), though both remain set for a weekly gain of roughly 4 percent.
Brent futures rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $87.16 a barrel by 0130 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 4 cents to $81.29 a barrel.
Vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz remain below the monthly average late in the week.
According to data from maritime tracking firm, commodity ship passages through Hormuz saw a slight rise on Thursday, though levels stayed below the August daily average of 12.
Figures showed nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five the day before. These included five ships entering the Gulf and four heading out into the Gulf of Oman, primarily through the Iranian shipping channel. At the same time, 19 commodity vessels sailed through the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Thursday with active transponders, holding relatively steady compared with 20 from the previous day, the data indicated.