Exclusive: India makes first crude oil purchase for SPR

LONDON (Reuters) - India has bought the first oil for its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), trade sources said on Monday, marking the start of a round of purchases by the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer to build up emergency stockpiles.

Oil prices have almost halved in the past year due to excess global production, leaving traders looking for any signs of new demand to help absorb the surplus.

The sources said state-refiner Indian Oil Corp bought a 2 million barrel cargo of Iraqi crude from Chinese trader Unipec, which will load in May for shipping to the first stage of India's SPR on the country's east coast.

 

(Reporting by David Sheppard; editing by Susan Thomas)