India’s Russian oil imports jumped tenfold

Indian Bank of Baroda stated on Thursday that India’s imports of Russian oil surged tenfold in 2022, reaching around 20 percent. Russia has been selling energy at a discount following sanctions imposed on it in the aftermath of Russian-Ukrainian war.

The figures show Russian oil have saved India around $89 per ton of crude. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar defended his country’s Russian oil purchases, citing its dire need for cheap oil imports.

Vandana Hari from Vanda Insights expected India and China will continue to be the only beneficiaries of the discounts. India is considered the world’s third largest importer of oil, while China is the second.