Some time ago, the Reserve Bank of India banned the use of cryptocurrency in all banks in the country, disallowing crypto trading. This is the reason that during a recent conference, India refused to use Venezuela’s “petro” cryptocurrency in oil trading. Venezuela is currently facing sanctions from the United States and is ready to offer oil on discount if the payment is done in petro.
According to reports, the country earlier offered around a 30% discount on oil to Indian refiners on condition that the transaction would be made in petro, promoted by Nicolas Maduro as the first-ever sovereign digital currency with backing from oil reserves.
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Even though India has been importing oil from Venezuela for many years, lately Indian average oil imports from there have slumped to the lowest level since 2012. The Latin American country is facing strict financial sanctions from the US and is trying to evade them by offering a discount using a different currency. Venezuela for its part is trying to increase its oil trade with India and has even shown willingness to accept rupees against oil sales. But it will mean bypassing the U.S. sanctions that make dollar-based trade impossible. However, if the country agrees to carry out the trade in rupees with India, it will use the Indian currency to purchase Indian medicines and food products.
India Struggling To Lower High Oil Prices
India has been facing a lot of problems regarding the rising prices of oil in the country and all this is because of a fatter crude oil import bill. The current accounts of the country have been impacted with the rise in oil prices.
Officials in the subcontinent believe that the rise in the oil prices and fuel prices have started affecting the economic growth of India. Dharmendra Pradhan, the Petroleum Minister of India, at the start of this month complained to Khalid al-Falih, the Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia that the rise in oil prices is hurting the economy of the country and there is a growing need for keeping oil and fuel prices stable and moderate.