NEW DELHI, Jan. 6 -- The price of the Indian crude oil basket, which represents the cost of oil imported by the country, has averaged $59.92 per barrel so far in January, down from $62.2 in December, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell on Tuesday. This marks the first time since February 2021 that the Indian crude basket has slipped below the $60-a-barrel mark.

The softening trend is expected to continue. "Indian basket expected to soften in line with expected trends internationally. Our base case is $50 per bbl (barrel) or even lower by June 2026," SBI Research said in a report dated 5 January.

The report added that by March, the Indian crude basket could fall to $53.31 per barrel. Given India's dynamic dail...