India`s February oil imports up 29.9% year on year

New Delhi: India`s oil imports in February increased by 29.93 percent year on year to 4.27 million barrels per day (bpd), or 16.88 million tonnes, government data showed.

Overseas purchases of oil products were 17.69 percent higher, while exports rose 21.25 percent, the data showed.

India`s annual fuel demand rose 11.7 percent in February and the oil ministry`s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell expects gasoline demand to grow to 24.2 million tonnes (560,000 bpd) in the 2016/17 financial year, up more than 12 percent from the 21.5 million tonnes estimated for 2015/16. February had 29 days this year.

The data for imports and exports is preliminary because private refiners share numbers at their discretion.