India's April crude oil import bill up 52% on year despite fall in volume
This story was originally published at 11:17 IST on 19 May 2026
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MUMBAI – India's crude oil import bill in April was $16.3 billion, up more than 52% from $10.7 billion a year ago, according to a report by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. The import bill rose despite a fall in volume terms, as crude oil imports fell to 20.1 million tonnes from 21.0 million tonnes a year ago.
The average price of the Indian crude basket was $114.48 per barrel in April, up from $113.49 in the previous month and $67.72 a year ago, according to the report. The war in West Asia, which began on Feb. 28 and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the key waterways for energy exports, impacted the crude oil market heavily, sending crude oil prices over the $100 per barrel mark in March. Crude oil prices remained near or above $100 per barrel throughout April.
India's dependency on crude oil imports was down at 88.3% in April from 89.6% a year ago, the report showed. Domestic crude oil production in April remained unchanged at 2.3 million tonnes from a year ago, while consumption of petroleum products fell to 19.3 million tonnes from 20.2 million tonnes.
In April, the country's gross petroleum imports, including crude oil and petroleum products, were down at 22.4 million tonnes from 24.9 million tonnes a year ago. However, the value of gross petroleum imports during the month rose to $17.4 billion from $12.5 billion a year ago, the report showed.
India's exports of petroleum products in April were down at 3.4 million tonnes from 4.0 million tonnes a year ago, while the value of exports rose to $4.4 billion from $2.4 billion. End
US$1 = INR 96.34
Reported by Shreya Shetty
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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