Indian crude oil imports reach two-year high in December

Oil

India’s crude oil imports increased by 380K b/d m-o-m and 420K b/d y-o-y to 4.84M b/d in December, reaching the highest level since October 2018, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). Despite imports previously shooting up by 890K b/d m-o-m in November this is the first y-o-y increase since March, as refiners continue to ramp up their output in order to meet rebounding fuel demand, Reuters report. India imported an average of 4.04M b/d across 2020, decreasing by 480K b/d (or 10%) y-o-y, and falling for the second year in a row after peaking at 4.55M b/d in 2018.

India’s total oil product exports declined by 390K b/d y-o-y to 1.16M b/d, however this is an increase of 150K b/d m-o-m and the highest level since September. Loadings of jet fuel increased by 10K b/d m-o-m to 80K b/d which is the highest since April, but this remains down by 90K b/d (or 52%) y-o-y as refiners continue to minimise their yields of the product amidst drastically reduced air travel, according to Argus.  Exports of diesel and gasoline both rose to 630K b/d and 260K b/d, increasing by 80K b/d m-o-m and 10K b/d m-o-m respectively.