India’s crude import bill surges 41% in July amid West Asia crisis; volumes up 13%
Episodic events in West Asia had kept prices on benchmark brent crude largely volatile in July this year.
India's crude oil import bill skyrocketed by more than 41% year-on-year to $13.7 billion in July, according to provisional data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The surge in international oil prices, driven by ongoing instability in West Asia, led to a 13.3% increase in crude oil imports, reaching 21.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) in July, up from 18.9 MMT in the same period last year.
The country's crude oil imports averaged $82.04 per barrel in July, a notable jump from $70.95 a barrel the previous year. Despite the rise in prices, overall crude basket imports remained substantial. Meanwhile, India's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports saw a modest 1.5% year-on-year increase to 2,915 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) in July.
Despite this, India maintains a heavy reliance on foreign supplies, with crude oil imports constituting 88.5% of its total crude oil consumption. Exports of petroleum products by Indian oil-marketing companies climbed by 10% year-on-year to 5.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) in July, generating $5 billion in revenue, a significant increase from $3.3 billion in the same period last year.
Consequently, the nation's net import bill for oil and gas, representing the disparity between imports and exports, surged more than 19% year-over-year to $11.2 billion.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
