India’s crude import bill to fall further to 45% in FY'16

Domestic consumption of petroleum products have gone up, largely due to lower fuel prices, gradually-picking up economic activity and higher car sales during the current financial year The Dollar Business Bureau

India’s crude import bill to fall further to 45% in 2015-16

The Indian crude basket averaged $28.08 a billion in January 2016 as compared to $35.68 a billion during the previous month.

Amid the ongoing descend in global oil prices, India’s import bill of crude oil is projected to come down by 45%, said the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) in its monthly report. “The import bill of crude oil is estimated to reduce by 45% from $113 billion in 2014-15 to $62 billion in 2015-16 making the Indian basket crude oil price of $35 per barrel and Rs.67 for the balance part of the financial year,” the PPAC of the Oil Ministry said in a statement. In January, Brent crude prices averaged $30.69 per billion as against $38.21 a billion during December 2015. While the Indian basket crude averaged $28.08 a billion during January 2016 compared to $35.68 a billion during the previous month. Domestic production of crude oil declined by 4.7% to 150 thousand metric tonnes (TMT) in January this year over that of January 2015. For the period April 2015 - January 2016, too, overall production was 1.2% less to 383 TMT than the corresponding period of last fiscal. However, production of petroleum products grew by 7.1% to 1344 TMT in January 2016 as against that of January 2015. During April 2015 - January 2016, overall production registered a 3.4% growth to 6,182 TMT as compared to the corresponding period of last year. There has been a surge in the domestic consumption of petroleum products, largely due to lower fuel prices, gradually-picking up economic activity and higher car sales during the current financial year. “Petroleum product consumption registered a growth of 12.7% during January, 2016 as compared to 3.1% growth during January, 2015. During the period, April 2015 to January 2016 petroleum product consumption registered a growth of 9.9% (13.5 MMT) as compared to the same period last year,” the report said. With the global oil prices expected to nosedive further for the next 3-4 years – some Chinese economists have projected its prices to go down as low as $10 a barrel in the coming years – major importing nations such as India will experience multifarious benefits on its economy.

February 22, 2016 | 06:30pm IST

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Feb 22, 2016 12:57 IST

India’s crude import bill to fall further to 45% in FY'16

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