- Mar 01, 2023, 7:59 AM CST
While India and China are not part of the price cap coalition, they have been able to drive the price of Russian oil down due to a lack of other buyers. China's reopening is set to lead to a jump in oil demand in the world's top crude oil importer, where Russia has always competed with its OPEC+ ally Saudi Arabia. But Moscow isn't giving up the Indian market, either, where it has turned from a negligible supplier a year ago to the single biggest oil supplier now.
India imported a record 1.4 million barrels per day of crude from Russia in January, up 9.2% compared to December, per data from trade sources reported by. Russia remained the top supplier of the world's third-largest importer, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and Russian imports accounted for 27% of all 5 million bpd in Indian crude oil imports.