Indian refiners have cut back purchases of Russian crude for November delivery, with Urals loaded in the Baltic now offered at premiums of more than $10 a barrel to Dated Brent, almost at par with Middle Eastern grades, according to Bloomberg. Moscow’s share of India’s crude imports fell to about 35% in September from as high as 56% in July, per Kpler, and shipments averaged just 310,000 barrels a day in the four weeks through October 4, the lowest since March 2022.
The pivot is driven by economics rather than politics: competition from China, which has been buying more Russian crude as its access to Iranian barrels shrank, has bid up prices just as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz recovered to about 80% of prewar levels, Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said. Shorter Gulf voyages and lower shipping costs add to the appeal as Asian refiners lock in supplies for the final months of the year.