India's crude oil processing volume in March fell by 1.8% year-on-year to 5.55 million barrels per day

⑴ Preliminary data released by the Indian government on Tuesday shows that India's crude oil processing volume in March fell by 1.8% year-on-year to 5.55 million barrels per day (23.48 million tons). India is the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer. ⑵ In March last year, refinery throughput was 5.65 million barrels per day (23.90 million tons), and in February this year, it was 5.73 million barrels per day (21.88 million tons). Separate data released earlier this month indicated that India's fuel consumption in March rose to 21.37 million tons from 20.19 million tons in February, marking a 3.2% increase compared with the same period last year. ⑶ Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply, continues to be disrupted, and the war between the US-Israel alliance and Iran has led to surging energy prices. ⑷ Tuesday's data also shows that India's crude oil imports in March fell by 16.7% year-on-year, and product exports dropped by around 27.2%. Traders said last week that India's imports of Russian crude surged to a record 2.25 million barrels per day in March. Following the US’s new waiver allowing countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, import volumes in April and May are expected to remain near record highs. ⑸ Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest refining complex, imported about 350,400 barrels per day of Russian crude in March, more than double February’s amount, partly offsetting supply disruptions resulting from the Middle East crisis.