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Oil Prices: Brent futures fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to USD 81.96 a barrel as at 0723 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 21 cents, or 0.2%, to USD 77.8.
Asia's imports of crude oil saw robust growth in January, reaching an eight-month high of 28.57 million barrels per day (bpd), led by top buyers China and India. China imported 11.31 million bpd, slightly below December's figure but well above the same month in 2023. China's imports from Russia surpassed those from Saudi Arabia, although Saudi Arabia increased its exports to regain market share in China. India, Asia's second-biggest importer, is on track for record imports in January, with arrivals of 5.33 million bpd.
Crude Oil Import: Asia's imports of crude oil saw robust growth in January, reaching an eight-month high of 28.57 million barrels per day (bpd), led by top buyers China and India. China imported 11.31 million bpd, slightly below December's figure but well above the same month in 2023. China's imports from Russia surpassed those from Saudi Arabia, although Saudi Arabia increased its exports to regain market share in China. India, Asia's second-biggest importer, is on track for record imports in January, with arrivals of 5.33 million bpd.
In its last review on December 18, the government had sharply cut the windfall profit tax on crude oil produced in the country to Rs 1,300 per tonne from Rs 5,000 earlier. The export duty on diesel was also cut from Re one per litre to 0.50 while that on ATF was hiked from nil to Re one.
In November, India's Russian oil imports surged to a four-month peak of 1.6 million barrels per day, up 3.1% from October and accounted for 36% of the country's total imports. Russia has become India's top oil supplier this year due to discounts after Western companies reduced buying following Moscow's Ukraine invasion.