India’s oil import bill jumps 48% to nearly $75 bn in April-August, up from $50 bn last year—govt data

Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell report indicates that the sharp increase in import bill was largely driven by high crude prices, rather than a rise in quantity of crude purchased.

Representational image | Commons

New Delhi: India’s crude oil import bill jumped 48.4 percent to $74.8 billion in the April-August period, up from $50.4 billion in the same period last year, as higher global oil prices raised the cost of imports despite broadly unchanged volumes.

The crude imports stood at 100.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) during the five-month period, marginally lower than 101.1 MMT a year earlier, according to the latest Monthly Ready Reckoner released by the Centre’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) late Thursday.

The data indicates that the sharp increase in import bill was largely price-driven, rather than a rise in quantity of crude purchased.

The Indian basket crude price averaged $90.19 a barrel in August, compared to $82.04 a barrel in July and $69.11 a barrel in August 2025, the PPAC report said. For August alone, India’s crude oil import bill stood at $11.7 billion—18 percent higher than said period last year.

India remains heavily dependent on overseas supplies to meet its oil requirements, with crude import dependence at 88 percent on consumption basis.

The global exposure has become more significant amid a fresh rise in crude prices in September. Brent crude has moved above $100 per barrel amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran, and disruptions to oil flows in the Middle East.

At the same time, domestic crude production has weakened. India produced 11.4 MMT of crude during April-August 2026, down from 11.9 MMT in the corresponding period last year, PPAC data showed.

Lower domestic production means a greater proportion of demand needs to be met through imports, increasing the impact of international oil price movements on the country’s import bill.

A prolonged period of elevated crude prices could also put pressure on India’s inflation, particularly through higher fuel and transportation costs.

India’s domestic gross natural gas production rose 20 percent to 14,075 million standard cubic metres (MMSCM) during April-August, from 11,754 MMSCM in the same period in 2025.

However, higher domestic output did not prevent a rise in imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which increased 31 percent during the five-month period, according to PPAC.

The divergence reflects continued demand for imported gas even as domestic production expands.

Drop in LPG consumption, hike in transport fuel use

The domestic consumption of overall petroleum products declined 3.9 percent to 96.2 MMT between April and August, compared to 100.1 MMT in corresponding period last year.

The decline was largely driven by a sharp fall in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption, which dropped 16.8 percent to 11.2 MMT from 13.4 MMT, primarily on account of government efforts to encourage households to take up piped natural gas (PNG) connections.

In contrast, consumption of high-speed diesel, the country’s most used transport fuel, rose 4.8 percent, while motor spirit (petrol) consumption increased seven percent during the period.

Air turbine fuel (ATF), used in aviation, recorded a marginal 0.5 percent increase from a year earlier.

The consumption data, therefore, points to a mixed trend across fuel categories, with stronger demand for transport fuels, partly offset by decline in LPG consumption.