The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry in its latest report has showed that India's crude oil imports in October 2018 rose to their highest level in at least more than seven years. Crude imports in October climbed 10.5% from a year earlier to 21.02 million tonnes, the highest monthly import figure in PPAC data going back to April 2011. In India, the world’s third-largest consumer, oil imports typically rise from October on account of higher fuel demand in the festival season and as industrial activity picks up after months of monsoon rains.
Further, oil imports from Africa surged to more than a three-year high, while imports from Iran fell by about 12% to about 466,000 bpd in October. However, India's overall purchases from Iran in the April-October period marked a rise of 34%. Besides, it showed that the country's imports of oil products declined nearly 20% and exports reported a fall of more than 4%.