India, top buyer of Russian oil in April, despite price cap imposed by G7 countries

India has become the top buyer of Russian oil, despite the price cap imposed by the Western countries. As per Reuters, India and China have bought oil at a price above the cap of $60 per barrel.

Cargoes stacked with Urals oil (refernce oil brand of Russia used for exports) were mostly heading towards Indian and Chinese ports during the first half of April. As per Reuters, India accounted for more than 70% of the seaborne supplies of Urals Oil till mid-April, while China accounted for about 20%.

As per Mint, India's crude imports from Russia in February stood at $3.35 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia at $2.30 billion and Iraq $2.03 billion

In December 2022, G7 countries and Australia had imposed a price cap of $60 per Barrel on Russian crude oil. The countries agreed upon the price cap to cut down Russia's oil revenue. However countries that were opposed of the price cap argued that this is a soft effort and won't have any impact on Russia's war against Ukraine.

Meanwhile, lower freight rates and small discounts of Urals oil has brought the daily price against the price cap in early April. Russia is facing too many western sanctions since it began its war against Ukraine in February 2022.