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According to data firm Kpler, India's imports of Urals crude fell to 929,000 barrels per day in December, the lowest level since December 2022.

`The Xi Jinping-led Chinese government has increased the purchase of oil from Russia after India reportedly reduced the import. As per news agency Reuters, China is importing Russia’s Urals crude at nearly a three-year high. The crude oil is being supplied to China at prices even cheaper than Iranian oil. It is important to note that owing to the pressure from US President Donald Trump and strict Western sanctions imposed on Russian oil producers, Indian refineries reduced their purchases of Russian oil in December and began looking for alternative options.

Reliance Industries, India’s largest oil buyer, stopped purchasing Russian oil in January. Reliance sells its refined oil products to Europe.

How much oil is China buying?

China is getting massive benefit after India reduced its demand for Russian oil. China is now getting the Russian crude oil at a cheaper rate. This is a major relief for the Xi government, especially since the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela and restricted oil sales from the country, which reduced China’s oil imports from Venezuela.

• China is currently importing about 405,000 barrels per day of Russian Urals crude, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
• The month of January has been the highest level since June 2023.
• China is importing around 1.4 million barrels per day of Russian oil via sea routes.
• China’s seaborne imports of Russian crude exceeded 1.5 million barrels per day, as per another data firm Vortexa
• This is significantly higher than the average of 1.2 million barrels per day recorded during the first eleven months of 2025.

India cuts imports

According to data firm Kpler, India’s imports of Urals crude fell to 929,000 barrels per day in December, the lowest level since December 2022. In 2024, the average stood at 1.36 million barrels per day, while in 2025 it averaged around 1.27 million barrels per day.