India imported $14.7 billion worth of crude oil from Russia in the June quarter (Q1), marking a 25 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, according to government data. This growth reflects higher availability and India’s expanding demand for Russian crude relative to other sources.
Shipments of Russian crude valued at $4.6 billion arrived in June, down from $5.8 billion in May, data from the Commerce Department revealed.
Despite this decrease, Russia’s share of Indian crude imports by value rose to 36.6 per cent in Q1, up from 35.8 per cent in the previous year. The share increased monthly during Q1, climbing from 32.5 per cent in April to 41.2 per cent in June.
In May, industry sources indicated that if Brent crude prices remained above $81 per barrel, India's crude oil purchases would continue favouring Russian supplies. Prices stayed above this threshold for most of April, May, and June.
Overall, India's crude oil imports in Q1 surged by 22.3 per cent to $40.2 billion, up from $33 billion in Q1 FY24. Crude oil was imported from 22 countries, a decrease from 24 countries in the previous year.
Looking ahead, imports from Russia are expected to increase despite Russian refiners’ plans to boost domestic fuel production.
However, Russian crude will face stiff competition from supplies from the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, which have risen by 90 per cent and 13.5 per cent, respectively, in volume terms during the first quarter of FY25.
Estimates from Vortexa, a London-based commodity data analytics provider, suggest that Russia's share of India’s crude imports reached 40 per cent in July.
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