After a brief halt, Chinese oil refiners are buying Russian crude at even steeper discounts than just weeks ago, according toPer the report, Chinese private processors, so-called teapots, purchased steeply discounted cargoes of Russian ESPO crude slated for December-January arrivals. Local banks and institutions also financed the yuan-based deals, Bloomberg said.
It remains to be seen whether these cargoes would be hit by sanctions or meet the parameters for the price cap, as it's unclear when the supplies would be loaded and unloaded. The Chinese buyers are also unconcerned because purchases were made on a delivered basis, meaning the responsibility of insurance and shipping is on the sellers, sources told Bloomberg.
The final price of the Russian oil purchases won't be clear until a later date, as the deals are completed against Brent crude's front-month February contract, which only emerges at the end of December.