EU countries have slashed import of Russian crude oil.

Russia’s seaborne crude exports to Europe are being diminished, with the bloc’s further sanctions only about two months away. Shipments in recent weeks have been little more than half pre-invasion levels and will come under increasing pressure as the import ban nears. Customers in northern Europe have slashed their imports, which are now running below 300,000 barrels a day. That’s about a quarter of the volume that was traded into the region before Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine. Meanwhile, the diversion of crude flows from Europe to Asia appears to have stalled. Flows to the big three buyers of Russian barrels (China, India, and Turkey), which initially stepped in to fill the gap after European buyers started to shun Moscow’s exports, have declined since August. Combined flows to these three countries in the four weeks ending September 23 were down by about 460,000 barrels a day from the high seen five weeks earlier.