India cranked up Russian oil imports by 4.7 times in April – may, or by more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), year-on-year, thanks to a price discount, the Russian central bank said .

Indian refiners have been snapping up relatively cheap Russian oil, shunned by Western companies and countries since sanctions were imposed against Moscow for what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

The central bank also said that China increased Russian oil purchases by 55% in May as Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia as the top oil seller to China