India's oil imports from Russia fell for the first time since March as the nation ramps up buying of Saudi crude

• Indian imports of Russian oil fell for the first time in five months in July.
• Imports of Russian oil fell 7.3% in July, while imports of Saudi Arabian crude jumped 25%.

India's imports of crude oil from Russia slipped for the first in five months in July as the nation ramps up its buying of Saudi Arabian crude products.

India took in 877,400 barrels per day of crude from Russia last month, Reuters reported, falling 7.3% from record trade volume in June when it took in 950,000 barrels a day.

In the last week of July alone, imports averaged below 400,000 barrels per day according to data from Vortexa, less than half of what it has averaged in recent months. Russia is still among India's largest oil suppliers though, just behind Iraq.

The dip in Indian demand for Russia's oil is largely due to the fact that prices of Saudi oil are becoming more attractive. Russian prices have surged due to strong demand from India and China since the country's invasion of Ukraine, as well as loosened EU sanctions on Russian oil.

The price of Russia's ESPO blend just reached parity with the Middle East benchmark, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Indian imports of Saudi crude jumped 25% in July to 824,000 barrels per day, the first hike in Saudi oil supplies in five months as well.

It's uncertain how long the hike in Saudi imports will last. Saudi Arabian oil prices are set to grow at their fastest rate in over 10 years, according to research from the International Monetary Fund, and prices for Saudi Aramco's Arab Light crude were just raised by to $9.30 a barrel in August, up $2.80 a barrel from July's prices, according to Bloomberg data.

But it's still a change of pace for Russia, which has made India one of its most enthusiastic oil customers since its invasion of Ukraine in February. Chinese and Indian buyers snapped up $24 billion in Russian crude during the first three months of war alone, lured by significant discounts while the West shuns supplies from the country.