Share of Russian oil in Indian imports rises to 38%, premium paid jumps 425% in April 2026

Russia’s share in the value of India’s oil imports rose to around 38% in April 2026, the highest in nearly 11 months, as India continued to increase its dependence on Russia amid the ongoing West Asian crisis.

This increased dependence has been accompanied by a 425% increase in the premium Russia demands for its oil, as opposed to the discount it offered until recently.

Russia’s share in terms of India’s crude import volume in April 2026 stood at approximately 34%. At the same time, India’s dependence on oil from the US has fallen to multi-month lows in both value and volume.

Oil imports are supported

Analysis of data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shows that India’s total oil imports have rebounded to 195.3 lakh tonnes in April 2026 after falling to 158.5 lakh tonnes in March following the onset of the West Asian crisis.

However, while this led to a 23% increase in volume terms from March 2026, the rising oil price meant India’s total oil import bill rose by 61.3% compared to the previous month to $15.4 billion in April 2026.

Of this, India’s oil import volume from Russia stood at around 67 lakh tonnes in April; This was up 27% from March and accounted for 34.3% of India’s total oil imports during the month.

Expensive Russian oil

The increase in prices had a significant impact on the amount India paid for this oil. Hindu Last month, it was reported that the discount Russia offered India in exchange for oil turned into a premium in March 2026.

Data now shows that India is paying a much higher premium for Russian oil in April 2026 than in March. The total value of India’s Russian oil imports stood at $5.8 billion in April 2026; this accounted for 37.7% of India’s total oil import bill that month.

In April, India paid Russia $864.9 per ton for its oil, while it paid a total of $787.1 per ton for its oil imports from all countries. This represents a premium of $77.8 per tonne compared to the premium of $14.8 per tonne paid to Russia in March 2026; This is an increase of 425%.

The US, on the other hand, accounted for only 2.9% of India’s oil bill in April 2026; this was an eight-month low. In terms of value, it constituted 3.8%, which was also the lowest level in eight months.