West African crude stays home as sellers wait for higher bids

A surge in freight costs has also discouraged deals, traders say. Asia is a key market for West African crudes, but freight rates for some key routes have hit multi-year highs, according to Riverlake data.

"China is still buying oil, but it’s going for the cheaper options," such as Russian and Iranian crude, one of the traders said.

West Africa's top export markets in 2025 were China and India, according to data from Kpler, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of exports.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey and Seher Dareen in London, editing by Alex Lawler and Rod Nickel)