FE
The country’s crude import bill decreased significantly to $87.1 billion in the April to November period from $113.4 billion in the same period last fiscal even as the import volume remained largely unchanged, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.
This is primarily due to the large discounts offered by Russia at the beginning of the year, the latest predominant supplier of crude oil to India. However, these discounts which had earlier exceeded $30 a barrel are now seen narrowing to $5-6 per barrel, according to analysts.
India’s share of crude oil imports has undergone a significant change, primarily because of the Russia-Ukraine war. The country’s crude import bill from Russia increased to a whopping $3,777 million in the current year against just $133 million in 2018, mainly on the discounts offered by the latter, as per data provided by rating agency Icra.
