India May crude oil import bill up 82% YoY despite slight rise in volume
This story was originally published at 10:54 IST on 18 June 2026
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MUMBAI – India's crude oil import bill in May rose nearly 82% to $18.7 billion from $10.3 billion a year ago, according to a report by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. The import bill rose disproportionately higher than the rise in the volume of crude oil imports, which rose marginally to 21.6 million tonnes from 21.3 million tonnes a year ago.
The average price of the Indian crude basket was $106.23 per barrel in May, down from $114.48 per barrel in April and higher than $64.04 per barrel a year ago, the report said. Prices rose from the previous year as the war in West Asia, which began on Feb. 28, kept the Strait of Hormuz largely shut for roughly 110 days, heavily impacting energy flows and sending prices above $100 per barrel in March. However, the average price of the crude basket fell from the previous month as hopes of a breakthrough in peace talks between the US and Iran eased some supply concerns. On Sunday, the US and Iran announced the framework of a peace deal between the two countries.
The country's dependency on crude oil imports fell to 89.1% from 90.1% a year ago, according to the report. Domestic crude oil production in May fell marginally to 2.3 million tonnes from 2.4 million tonnes a year ago. Consumption of petroleum products in the country slipped to 19.9 million tonnes from 21.3 million tonnes last year.
India's gross petroleum imports, including crude oil and petroleum products, were down at 24.4 million tonnes from 25.5 million tonnes a year ago. However, the value of gross petroleum imports during the month jumped to $20.4 billion from $12.2 billion a year ago, the report showed.
In May, the country's exports of petroleum products fell to 3.7 million tonnes from 5.6 million tonnes a year ago, while the value of exports was up at $3.9 billion from $3.3 billion. End
US$1 = INR 94.45
Reported by Shreya Shetty
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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