Saudi Arabia’s oil exports to Asia rose in November, while Russia’s crude sales in the world’s most important oil-importing region fell amid lower purchases by Moscow’s two key markets, China and India.
Both India and China, Russia’s key export markets, saw lower Russian crude arrivals last month, while their imports of Saudi crude rose, the data showed. The rise in Saudi Arabia’s exports to Asia was likely due to a lower premium of the Dubai quotes over Russia’s flagship grade Urals, as well as higher costs to shipping crude all the way from Russia’s western ports to India, Reuters’s Russell argues.