India increased its purchases of Russian oil during the month of April, while reducing its imports from both Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the country's second and third largest oil suppliers, according to data from Kpler and the London Stock Exchange Group, which tracks trade flow.

Data indicate that India increased its purchases of Russian oil by between 13 and 17 percent in April, bringing the total quantity imported to between 1.5 million and 1.75 million barrels per day.

This increase is due to Indian refineries continuing to purchase Russian oil at attractive prices, especially after the war in Ukraine led to the cessation of Russian exports to Western countries and the imposition of sanctions on them.

While Russia remained India's largest oil supplier in April, followed by Iraq and then Saudi Arabia, India's imports of Iraqi oil saw a decline of between 20 and 23 percent during the same month.

Expectations indicate that India's imports of Russian oil may decline this May to 1.1 million barrels per day, with some Western countries returning to importing Russian oil in limited quantities.