Oil import bill fell 8.5 per cent in December, according to fresh data sourced from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
India spent $9.7 billion in December to buy 20.8 million tonnes of crude oil, lower than $10.6 billion that it spent to buy 20.2 million tonnes in the same period last year.
And for the first nine months of the current financial year, oil bill fell 11.5 per cent to $90.7 billion, as against a bill of $102.5 billion during the same period last year.
The lower bill came despite the crude oil imports volume rising by 3.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent during December and Apr-Dec period, respectively, as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
India has been benefiting from lower crude prices, driven by an oversupplied global market and subdued demand conditions. A sharp drop in global oil prices pushed the Indian basket crude down by over $10 a barrel in December to an average of $62.2 per barrel, from $73.34 per barrel a year earlier.
Crude oil imports account for nearly a quarter of the country’s total imports.
India’s reliance on imported crude remains high, with imports meeting 88.6 per cent of domestic demand in the nine months ended December.
Besides crude oil, India also imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), while exporting products such diesel and petrol. The net oil and gas bill of India fell by
5 per cent in December to $9.5 billion. During April to December, net oil and gas bill fell by 11.7 per cent to $87.7 billion, showed official data.
India’s fuel consumption showed robust growth of 5.3 per cent in December at 21.74 million tonnes. The higher consumption was led by higher demand for LPG at 11.2 per cent, petrol at 7.1 per cent and diesel at 5 per cent.
 "Crude oil")