(ET)
India’s crude oil import bill nearly doubled to USD 119 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, as energy prices soared globally following the return of demand and war in Ukraine. India, the world’s third biggest oil consuming and importing nation, spent USD 119.2 billion in 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022), up from USD 62.2 billion in the previous fiscal year, according to data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC).
It spent USD 13.7 billion in March alone, when oil prices surged to 14-year high. This compared with USD 8.4 billion spending in the same month last year. Oil prices started to surge from January and rates crossed USD 100 per barrel in the following month before touching USD 140 per barrel in early March. Prices have since receded and are now around USD 106 per barrel.
