New Delhi: India’s crude oil imports rose to a monthly record in January after the Red Sea shipping crisis delayed the December arrival of cargoes from the Americas, data from trade sources showed.
The world’s third largest oil importer and consumer also received in January its first cargo of Venezuelan oil after a gap of more than three years, as the US eased sanctions on the South American producer, the data showed.
India’s oil imports hit 5.24 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 17% from December and 3.5% higher than in the corresponding month a year earlier, according to the data.
The previous monthly high in India’s imports was 5.1 million bpd in Jan 2018, the data showed.
