OREANDA-NEWS  Russian oil supplies to India have been declining for the second month in a row and may fall even more in August, reaching the lowest since the beginning of the year. However, since October, imports may grow again and amount to 2.2 million barrels per day. Seasonal demand growth will return the indicator to record values. The corresponding forecast was provided to Bloomberg by the analytical company Kepler.

Viktor Katona, head of the Kepler Crude Oil Supply Analysis Department, expects Russian fuel imports to India to collapse to 1.6 million barrels per day in the last month of summer. In July, supplies decreased to 2.09 million barrels per day from 2.11 million in June. At the same time, India began to receive less oil from Saudi Arabia, while supplies from Iraq rose to a five-month high. The expert explains that the import of Russian fuel in August risks falling due to the fact that this month Russia will begin to reduce exports "to ensure market balance." Moscow announced a reduction in supplies in early July. At the same time, Saudi Arabia announced the extension of the voluntary reduction of oil production by one million barrels per day for August.

In addition, Russian oil began to lose its attractiveness to Indian buyers due to its rise in price - in early July, The Times of India newspaper wrote that discounts on Russian fuel relative to the benchmark Brent grade decreased to $ 4 per barrel, while in winter the discount reached $ 25-30.