March crude oil imports slip by 2 MT over Jan.; 50% more costly

In a reflection of the impact of the West Asia war that started at the end of February, India’s crude oil imports dipped to some 19 million tonnes in March, down by 2 million tonnes from January and 1 million from the shorter month of February. March imports were the lowest since July 2025.

India paid ₹1.2 lakh crore for the March imports as opposed to ₹86,000 crore in January, representing a 40% increase overall, data from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed. In terms of the price India has paid for unit imports, this is an increase of more than 50%.