Indian Crude Imports Up More Than 3% Month-on-Month in April

India's crude oil imports rose more than 3% month-on-month in April to 20.08 million metric tons, government data showed.

On a yearly basis, crude oil imports slipped 4.3%, from 20.99 million tons in April 2025, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.

• India is the third-largest importer and consumer of oil globally so the data is a key indicator of its demand.

• Imports of crude oil products fell over 40% on a yearly basis to 2.34 million tons in April, while product exports declined about 14.6% to 3.45 million tons.

• Since the start of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, global energy prices have climbed, driven by continued disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz which normally carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

• Industry sources said Indian refiners have secured enough crude to meet their needs through at least August after increasing purchases from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and other sellers in recent weeks. 

• Meanwhile, the country is expected to see less growth in gasoline and diesel demand this year after price hikes last month to reflect higher oil costs, with early signs of stress visible in the trucking sector.

NOTE: The data for imports and exports is preliminary because private refiners share numbers at their discretion.

All figures are in millions of metric tons: 

Imports:

Exports:  

NOTE:

Totals may not match exactly as not all items are included in the table and figures are rounded.

(Reuters)