Suriyapong Thongsawang
- Russia's seaborne crude exports just dropped to their lowest mark since January, Bloomberg data shows.
- In July, Russia's seaborne exports averaged 2.98 million barrels a day, down more than 900,000 barrels a day from May's peak.
- The Europe Union's oil import ban and price cap took hold at the end of 2022.
In July, Russia's seaborne crude exports dropped to their lowest mark in seven months, Bloomberg data shows.
Russia shipped an average of 2.98 million barrels a day in the four weeks to July 30, down roughly 900,000 barrels a day since May's peak. According to Bloomberg, flows for the month were more volatile on a weekly basis, and exports coming out of the Arctic matched previous record highs.
Indian refiners, who have been snapping up increasing volumes of discounted oil from Russia since last February when the war in Ukraine began, decreased purchases for the second straight month in July. The discount they enjoyed on Russian crude is narrowing amid a broader rise in prices.
On Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 0.9% to change hands at about $84.65 a barrel.
The declines in Russia's seaborne exports comes as energy giant Saudi Arabia recently announced a cut to its output. In July, both countries vowed to continue slashing production through the summer in an effort to boost crude prices.
Russian officials have said the country will voluntarily slash oil production by half a million barrels a day in August, and Saudi Arabia, which has been trying to push crude prices higher for months, has signaled it will maintain its reduction of 1 million barrels a day.
Overall in July, the Kremlin pulled in an average of $44 million a week from crude-export duty. That figure hovered above $200 million last May, per Bloomberg.
Since launching its "special military operation" in Ukraine February 2022, Russia's economy has deteriorated sharply. A series of oil and gas sanctions, an exodus of businesses, and the evaporation of trade routes that were once profitable have hamstrung the country's status as an energy superpower.