Russia bounces back to become India's second-largest crude supplier in Sep

Russia bounced back to become India's second-largest crude oil supplier in September. Indian refiners returned to the market after completing maintenance of their facilities and diversified purchases of Russian grades, according to data from three European commodity analytics firms. 

Russian oil has become the mainstay of Indian refiners in only six months, a position which took decades for West Asian suppliers and the US to achieve.

Russian supplies, primarily of Urals, increased by around 15 per cent from August, reflecting a hardening of India's position against US overtures to reduce Russian oil sales to India. Moreover, Indian refiners expanded their