India's oil imports from the US has touched a record high in January, Reuters reported citing data obtained from sources. The share of Canada and the United States of America in India's January oil imports surged to a record 11 per cent while that of the Middle East and South America declined, the report said.
The revelation comes only days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the previous governments for not reducing India's energy import dependence. Fuel prices in the country have surged to all-time highs to touch Rs 100 mark.
As per Reuters, India imported about 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) oil in January, a decline of 6 per cent from the previous month and marginally higher than a year earlier.
India's imports from Canada and the United States almost doubled from December to 142,000 bpd and 367,000 bpd, respectively. The United States emerged as the fourth-biggest supplier to India after the United Arab Emirates.
At the same time, India's reliance on the Middle East is declining as refiners are diversifying crude sources to hedge against disruption and buy cheaper barrels from elsewhere to boost margins.
Despite lower imports, Iraq continued to be the top oil seller to India last month followed by Saudi Arabia.