A sharp rise in crude oil prices for India has been recorded amid increasing geopolitical tension in West Asia and uncertainty in Hormuz. On March 19, 2026, the price of Indian crude oil basket was $ 156.29 per barrel. This basket represents crude oil processed in Indian refineries. This includes crude oils of sour grades (Oman and Dubai average) and sweet grades (Brent dated). The ratio of these two is 78.71 percent and 21.29 percent respectively. Crude oil prices are the average of daily prices for the respective month. The current month’s average is based on prices so far. This basket is an important indicator of India’s energy needs. The fluctuations of the global market have a direct impact on it.
What do sweet crude and sour crude mean?
Sweet crude has very low sulfur levels, less than 1%. Whereas the sulfur content in sour crude ranges from 1-2%. Midstream companies and refiners that transport, store and process sour oil know they need additional treatment capabilities to remove sulfur and sweeten the product.
What do you understand by Indian Basket Crude Oil?
Indian Basket Crude Oil means the average price of different crude oils imported by India. Actually, India does not buy only one type of oil, but buys different grades of crude oil from many countries (like West Asia, Africa etc.). The average price obtained by combining the prices of all these oils is called Indian Basket.
What will be the impact of the rise in its prices?
Indian Basket Crude oil being expensive means that India has to spend more money to buy crude oil, because the country imports most of the oil it needs. This increases pressure on the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG, which may increase the cost of common people. Also, inflation increases due to transport and production becoming expensive. When oil becomes expensive, the country’s import bill also increases, which puts pressure on the foreign currency and there is a possibility of weakness of the rupee. Overall, it directly impacts the general public and the entire economy.