Small gain in Russian oil sales can’t reverse grinding downtrend
NEW DELHI: Russia’s oil exports made a small gain last week, but not by enough to prevent what appears for now to be a downtrend in the nation’s shipments to a diminished group of buyers.
Aggregate flows of Russian crude rose by 197,000 barrels a day, or 8%, in the seven days to Jan. 6. Pacific shipments were up by 200,000 barrels a day from the previous week, while those from the Arctic gained by 143,000 barrels a day, more than offsetting a decline in volumes leaving the Black Sea.
The increase didn’t prevent the country’s four-week average, which smooths out peaks and troughs in what are noisy weekly data, from decreasing for the fourth straight week. And it is apparent that those countries that provided a lifeline for Moscow are starting to look less supportive than they were last year. That could spell trouble for Russia, which hasn’t managed to diversify its pool of buyers since Europe all but halted purchases early last month.
