India increased its imports of Russian oil by more than 400,000 bpd in April and May

Thanks to a price discount, India increased its imports of Russian oil by 4.7 times in April through May, or by more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), year over year, the Russian central bank reported on Tuesday.

Since sanctions were placed against Moscow for what it refers to as a “special military operation” in Ukraine, Indian refiners have been buying up relatively inexpensive Russian oil, which has been spurned by Western companies and nations.

The central bank also reported that China increased its purchases of Russian oil by 55% in May, overtaking Saudi Arabia as China’s main oil supplier.