NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s oil imports from Africa jumped to their highest in 10 months in August as refiners switched out more expensive crude from the Middle East, shipping data provided by trade sources showed.
The world’s third biggest oil importer shipped in about 3.95 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in August, the highest volume since April, with African nations accounting for about 17.5%, or an eleven month high of 688,000 bpd, the data showed.
“Spot prices of west African oil versus Brent were down in the most part of July compared with June. That along with lower freight offered an opportunity to buy Nigerian oil,” said Ehsan Ul Haq, analyst with Refinitiv.
