MOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Urals crude differentials were steady on Monday, while exports of the grade from Russia's western ports rose in the first half of May compared with April, traders said.

Exports and transit of crude oil through Russia's western ports, which mostly load the Urals grade, rose by around 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), or about 9%, in the first two weeks of May versus April, according to data from traders, LSEG and Reuters calculations.

The U.S. Treasury will extend its sanctions waiver on Russian seaborne oil, that expired on Saturday, after several countries asked for more time to buy it, a source familiar with the decision.

Despite the expiration of the previous waiver, traders said that demand for Russian crude remains high in Asia with Indian refiners purchasing a lion's share of Urals oil loading by sea.

India has been buying Russian oil irrespective of U.S. sanctions waivers, Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said on Monday.

PLATTS WINDOW

• There were no bids or offers on Monday for Urals, CPC Blend and Azeri BTC, traders said.

NEWS

• China's April crude oil throughput fell to the lowest since August 2022, official data showed on Monday, as the Iran war curbed refinery runs in the world's second-largest oil consumer.

• Supertanker Agios Fanourios I is heading for Vietnam to discharge its Iraqi crude oil cargo after it was held by the U.S. Navy for five days in the Gulf of Oman, shipping data on LSEG showed.