Russian oil exports jumped to their highest level in almost three years in March despite Western sanctions, but revenues were down sharply from last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.

Total oil shipments rose by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.1 million bpd last month, according to the IEA. While revenues rebounded by $1 billion to $12.7 billion, they nevertheless declined by 43 percent from the previous year.