When Oil and Tariffs Collide: India’s Energy Gamble in a Tense Trade World
By Pallab Bhattacharya
Newscript | August 6, 2025
Oil prices are rising. The rupee is falling. And India’s central bank is walking a policy tightrope.
All it took was a fresh burst of tariff threats from former US President Donald Trump, this time aimed squarely at India, to jolt global commodity and currency markets. As of August 6, 2025, Brent crude hovered around $69 per barrel—rebounding from five-week lows—while the Indian rupee slumped 1.18% against the dollar in a single week. Foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by $9.3 billion to $688.9 billion.
For a country importing over 89.1% of its crude oil needs, this is more than noise. With domestic production languishing at roughly 573,000 barrels per day, against consumption of over 5.05 to 5.3 million barr...