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After a brief halt, Chinese oil refiners are buying Russian crude at even steeper discounts than just weeks ago, according to Bloomberg, and buyers are completing those purchases in yuan rather than US dollars.
Per 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.
The purchases come ahead of the December 5 start date for a Russian oil price cap as well as the European Union’s ban on seaborne Russian crude imports.
