Local crude oil basket rises to $57

India's crude oil basket rose marginally to $57.80 per barrel Wednesday from $57.50 a day earliera, the petroleum and natural gas ministry said today.

Wednesday, Brent crude closed at $59.15 a barrel, while Dubai and Oman benchmarks were at $58.60 and $57.18 respectively. In November till Wednesday, the basket averaged at $57.37 a barrel. In October, the basket averaged $57.27 a barrel compared with September's $61.04 and August's $70.84.

The softening of crude prices since September has provided some relief to India's oil marketing companies that had been reeling under heavy revenue losses.