Brent’s rise in India’s crude basket comes as oil prices jump

Brent now carries a 79.40% weight in India’s crude basket for July 2026, while Dubai/Oman accounts for 20.60%, marking a sharp shift in the benchmark mix used to track the cost of crude imported and processed by Indian refiners.

The change comes as oil prices are moving sharply again. Brent crude rose more than 6% on Wednesday to around $79 a barrel after renewed US-Iran tensions revived fears over supply from the Middle East.

India is one of the world’s largest crude importers, and changes in the basket influence the price signal watched by policymakers, refiners and fuel retailers.

The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has listed the Indian Crude Basket ratio notification for July 2026 on its website. PPAC also lists separate ratio notifications for May and June 2026.

The Indian crude basket is a weighted average of sweet crude represented by Brent and sour crude represented by Dubai and Oman. For years, the basket leaned more heavily toward Middle Eastern sour grades, mirroring India’s dependence on Gulf suppliers.

Brent’s move to the top points to a broader change in India’s sourcing pattern. Indian refiners have diversified their crude purchases over the past few years, drawing more barrels from Russia, the US, Latin America and Africa, along with traditional Middle Eastern suppliers.

The shift matters because Brent is the world’s most closely watched seaborne crude benchmark. A higher Brent weight can change how India’s basket responds when Brent and Middle Eastern sour crude benchmarks move in different directions.

India’s exposure remains high. Rising crude prices worsen India’s trade deficit, add to inflation risks and weigh on growth, because the country imports most of the oil it consumes. The pressure was visible in markets, with Indian shares posting their steepest fall in more than two months as oil prices climbed.

Domestic pump prices have not moved in step with the latest global surge. PPAC listed petrol in Delhi at ₹102.12 a liter and diesel at ₹95.20 a liter as of 8 July. But higher crude prices still affect refiners’ margins, government calculations and the broader inflation outlook.