Small Gain in Russian Oil Sales Can't Reverse Grinding Downtrend
Combined flows to China, India, Turkey hit lowest since October
Sanctions are crimping Russia’s crude flows
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
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.