FRANKFURT- German crude oil imports in January and February fell 20.7% year on year as the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns hit industrial activity, official data showed on Wednesday.

Oil volumes in the two months fell to 11.7 million tonnes from 14.8 million in the same months of 2020, statistics from the BAFA foreign trade office showed.

Russia accounted for 36.1% of Germany's oil imports in the period, followed by 22.2% from the British and Norwegian North Sea, while imports from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) contributed 15.4%.

The rest was shared among other sources, including the United States in fifth place.

Germany spent 4.0 billion euros ($4.80 billion) on crude imports in the period, down 34.4%, reflecting the volume drop and the impact of low oil prices.

However, crude prices started rallying in Feb and regained pre-pandemic levels above $70 in March, which will show in coming months' statistics.

Average oil prices paid fore each tonne at the border in Jan/Feb were down 17.2% year-on-year at 344.4 euros.

($1 = 0.8328 euros)

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Jane Merriman) ((vera.eckert@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 2201 33654; @EckertVera;))