The Hindu Business Line : Aug crude import up 9.7% on strong overseas margins

New Delhi, Sept. 24 The country’s crude oil import in August saw a jump of 9.7 per cent from a year-ago with the Indian refiners importing 10.05 million tonnes (mt) of crude. This is mainly due to strong margins overseas making oil product exports attractive, while the domestic demand grew at a moderate rate. In August last year, the country had imported 9.16 mt.

According to the Petroleum Ministry, the higher crude imports was due to increase in refinery capacity during the year. The crude imports during July stood at 10.63 mt. During the first five months of the current financial year (April-August), crude imports stood at 51.89 mt, up 15.4 per cent from 44.97 mt during the corresponding period a year-ago.

The liquefied petroleum gas imports during August rose 23.7 per cent, while diesel imports shot up 269 per cent as public sector oil marketing companies started importing diesel to feed retail network, according to the Ministry. Export of various oil products during the month stood at 3.21 mt compared with 2.98 mt in the corresponding month last year. This was due to strong margins overseas and artificially low prices of these products in the domestic market. Diesel exports in August stood at 1.32 mt, up 9 per cent from the corresponding month last year.

Sale of petroleum products in the domestic market during the month under review saw an increase of 3.5 per cent compared with the corresponding month last year due to higher consumption of transport fuels, according to a Petroleum Ministry data. Petrol sales during the month were up 9.1 per cent year on year, while diesel sales, which account for nearly one-third of domestic consumption, rose 5.7 per cent.

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