In September, the Latin American share in India’s crude exports rose to the highest in 11 months.
Last month, India’s crude imports from Latin America jumped by about 20% month-on-month to around 498,000 bpd, the highest since December 2020. The share of Latin American grades among India’s total crude imports jumped by 12%.
Crude from the Americas was very competitive with a narrower price spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, while they also yield more diesel.
On the contrary, India’s purchase from the Middle East fell by 12% while the share amongst the total slipped to a four-month low of 55.5%. Middle Eastern producers’ OSPs (official selling prices) for September were higher compared to August OSPs.
Therefore, the share of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in India’s overall oil imports dropped to 66.7% from 77.5% in the corresponding time of 2020. For the first half of this fiscal year (April-September), the group’s share declined to its lowest ever recorded.
In September, India posted a 19% annual increase in crude exports to 4.14 million bpd.
