India saves $7 b outgo in Iran crude oil imports.... Crude oil import from Iran took $7 billion pressure off on the rupee in the last 13 months.UCO Bank is the only Indian designated bank under the rupee-payment mechanism with Iran. Indian crude oil import from Iran by IOC under the mechanism was worth $7 billion in little more than a year till date. All of it was done in rupee-term saving dollar during a period when the Indian currency saw a steep fall against the greenback. Had the mechanism not been in place, $7 billion outgo pressure could have pushed down rupee further during 2012-13. The recent decline in the rupee has been particularly sharp despite interventions. It fell from (54 in April this year) by approximately 7.5 per cent so far this year. UCO Bank, backed by its tie-ups with five Iranian banks, began carrying out settlements of dues in April 2012. The net gain for India after adjusting exports to Iran under this mechanism during the period was $3.5 billion. The remaining rupee deposits are expected to be adjusted in an accelerated way during the current fiscal through higher exports to Iran. Going by the trend in the first quarter, the total trade between the two countries in FY2014 is likely to be around $6.5 billion, up from $4.6 billion. The five Iranian banks involved under the mechanism included Persian Bank, Pasargad Bank and Saman Bank. Sixteen branches of UCO Bank, majority of them in the western and northern region, handle payments under the mechanism.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:17:32 +0000
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