Voting gets underway in India’s general election
India’s high sensitivity to oil prices
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
A relative reduction in oil prices and a pivot to cheaper volumes have boosted India’s balance sheet. Lower crude prices during the recently concluded 2023–24 financial year (FY), compared with the previous FY, helped the Indian government save $25.1b of foreign exchange. Import volumes remained similar during the last two FYs, which run from 1 April to 31 March. India imported 232.5mt of crude oil in FY 2023–24, compared with 232.7mt in 2022–23. Meanwhile, the price of Brent averaged $83/bl in 2023, down from $101/bl in 2022. Election year This is welcome news for the government as voters head to the polls. “Lower crude oil prices and resultantly lower import bills have been a major respite
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