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India and UAE close first crude deal in local currencies

By Pramod Kumar
Adnoc L&S logistics fleet Adnoc
The transaction involved the sale of one million barrels of crude oil through the newly implemented local currency settlement system

India and the UAE have concluded the first-ever crude oil transaction through local currencies between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Indian Oil Corporation.

The transaction involved the sale of one million barrels of crude oil through the newly implemented local currency settlement system, Asian News Agency reported, citing a statement from India’s embassy in the UAE.

Both Indian rupees and UAE dirhams were used for the transaction.

The transaction follows the sale of 25 kilogramme of gold from a UAE gold exporter to a buyer in India at about INR128.4 million ($1.54 million).

In July, India and the UAE signed an agreement to settle trade in local currencies to cut transaction costs by eliminating US dollar conversions.

During the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE last month, the two countries agreed to set up a real-time payment link to facilitate easier cross-border money transfers.

In February 2022, India became the first country with which the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa).

Bilateral trade has increased by approximately 15 percent since the Cepa came into force on May 1, 2022. Trade between the two countries was $84.5 billion from April 2022 to March 2023.

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