Tankers with Russian oil accumulate near China due to reduced purchases by India
Tankers with Russian oil have started to accumulate massively near Chinese ports after India reduced purchases of raw materials from Russia. This is reported by The Public with reference to Bloomberg and data from shipping monitoring and traders.
According to the agency, dozens of ships with millions of barrels of Russian oil are waiting to be unloaded off the coast of China. Some of the tankers are at sea for much longer than usual, indicating logistical congestion and limited demand from key buyers.
India, which became the second largest importer of Russian oil after China after the start of a full-scale war, has reduced its purchases in recent weeks. Bloomberg cites growing transport risks, difficulties with payments, and increased Western pressure on the so-called shadow fleet of the Russian Federation as the reasons for this.
Against this background, China remains the main market for Russian oil, but even there, the possibilities for rapid volume absorption are not unlimited. According to Bloomberg, Russia exports more than 3 million barrels per day by sea, and any disruption in one of the key routes immediately leads to a congestion of tankers and higher costs.
Analysts note that the accumulation of ships near China increases pressure on Russian oil prices, which are already trading at a big discount to global benchmarks. This directly affects the Russian budget revenues, where energy remains the main source of foreign exchange earnings.
