Russian crude oil exports hit record levels in June, Bloomberg reports

Russia increased its crude oil exports to a record level in June.

This was reported by Bloomberg.

According to the agency, Russia boosted seaborne crude shipments to a record 4.13 million barrels per day in the four-week period ending June 28. The volume of Russian oil at sea rose to 133 million barrels, up 34% from mid-April, with bottlenecks forming near Mersa el-Hamra in Egypt and around the Riau Islands near Singapore.

At the same time, the gross value of exports fell to its lowest level since March, when prices began to rise. Urals crude in the Baltic and Black Sea regions was trading at around $63 per barrel, while ESPO was priced at $74. Prices in the Baltic are now roughly half of what they were at the beginning of May.

Ukraine’s strikes on oil refineries in Ufa, Yaroslavl, Slavyansk-on-Kuban and Moscow prompted Russia to redirect more crude toward exports, Bloomberg noted.

Shipments to Asia reached 3.98 million barrels per day, including 1.08 million barrels per day to China and 740,000 barrels per day to India. Another 2.13 million barrels per day had no final destination listed.

Against the backdrop of weak demand from China, Moscow will likely have to offer deeper discounts, Bloomberg said.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Russia’s seaborne oil exports had risen to their highest level since the beginning of the year.