China's crude oil imports from top supplier Russia were up 1% in 2024 to a record high versus 2023, while purchases from Saudi Arabia dropped 9%, data showed on Monday, as refiners chased discounted Russian supplies to cope with weakened margins.

India is now staring at the possibility of an oil shock after the U.S. decided to implement sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil industry.

Oil prices fell back slightly on Thursday, a day after settling at multi-month highs on U.S. President Joe Biden's latest sanctions targeting Russia and a larger-than-forecast fall in U.S. crude stocks.

Six Russian tankers still under construction at Russia's Zvezda shipyard have been sanctioned by the United States. This is the first time that Washington has banned tankers before they even set sail.

The newly inaugurated President of the USA, Donald Trump, is laying the groundwork for a future agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The key mechanism is expected to be even stricter sanctions aimed at persuading Vladimir Putin to negotiate.

Oil prices on the New York fuel exchange remain high due to concerns about threats to the global supply of this resource, with U.S. oil reserves experiencing the longest series of declines since 2021,