India’s crude imports from Russia plunged 26.3% month-on-month to 2.08 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, from a historic high of 2.82 million bpd in July, as lower Russian seaborne exports, stronger Chinese competition and higher risks around Black Sea shipments reduced the availability of barrels for Indian refiners. The sharp decline pushed Russia’s share in India’s crude basket down nearly 11 percentage points to 45% from 55.9% in July, according to Kpler data. India’s overall crude imports fell 8.4% to 4.62 million bpd, from 5.04 million bpd in July. At around 4.7 million bpd, however, August imports were still the highest for the month in five years, according to Natalia Katona, an independent commodity analyst based in Abu Dhabi.