India’s crude oil imports in June fell 4.7% month-on-month to 20.32 million metric tons, the lowest level since February, government data showed on Monday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
India is the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, making this data a key indicator of the country’s oil demand.

BY THE NUMBERS
On a yearly basis, crude oil imports rose more than 8% from 18.81 million tons in June 2024, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

Imports of crude oil products climbed by more than 19.61% on a yearly basis to 4.33 million tons in June, while product exports rose more than 7% to 5.33 million tons.

India’s fuel consumption in June fell 4.7% month-on-month to 20.31 million metric tons, according to data released by the oil ministry on Monday.

Indian private refiners, which have capitalised on discounted Russian crude to boost margins, will now have to find workarounds and increasingly depend on traders to access new markets for their products, following the latest round of European Union sanctions, according to traders and industry sources.

Indian refiners’ crude throughput declined by 4.2% month-on-month in June to 5.41 million barrels per day (22.13 million metric tons), according to provisional government data released last week.

India plans to source about 10% of its cooking gas imports from the U.S. starting in 2026, as part of a broader push to expand energy trade and help narrow its trade deficit with Washington, according to four refining industry sources familiar with the matter.

KEY QUOTE
“Refinery runs were lower in June versus May. This likely was driven by seasonally declining domestic oil demand due to the monsoon,” said UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

This trend is likely to continue into July. In contrast, year-on-year imports should still be rising with Indian oil demand still pointing upwards,” Staunovo said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)