India surpassed China as the largest buyer of Russian oil last month, Reutersreported Thursday, citing import data from both countries.Russian crude exports to India in July reached a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with 1.76 million bpd to China, the news agency said.India imported 12% more Russian crude than last year, while the worlds largest crude oil importer Chinaimported 7.4% less over the same period.
Chinasdrop was attributed to weakening processing margins among refineries and low demand for fuel.Both countries have benefited from discounted Russian oil after the West partially embargoed Russian oil and G7 countries imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Meanwhile, Russias oil and gas revenues havesurged in a sign of Moscows ability to circumvent Western sanctions.Indias requirement for Russian oil is going to go up as long as there are no further tightening of sanctions, an unnamed industry insider from India was quoted as saying by Reuters.Russian crude also reached a record 44% of Indias total oil imports in July, the news agency said.