India's Oil Import Bill Threatened by West Asia Tensions

India's crude import bill is set to rise due to renewed hostilities in West Asia and changes in the sweet-sour import ratio. The Indian Crude Basket has climbed near $100 a barrel, threatening to add macroeconomic pressure on the country.

The basket stood at $99.35 a barrel on September 2, while the September average rose to $97.32 a barrel, according to Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell data. This is a significant increase from August's $90.19 and July's $82.04.

Crude markets have turned volatile again after fresh US military strikes along Iran's southern coast and Iranian retaliation revived concerns over oil supplies from West Asia. The escalation matters for India because nearly 90% of its oil requirement is imported, with a significant portion coming from West Asia.