Energy prices may come down globally: Puri

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep S Puri said with more oil coming up in the global market, including from the USA, energy prices were likely to come down, which would help tame inflation.

Addressing a press conference, exuding confidence that India has established contacts with the new US administration led by President Donald Trump, Puri said the Indo-American relationship on the energy front would deepen.

According to him, India imports oil from 40 countries, including Argentina, and since there is enough oil in the world, even oil producing nations that are implementing cutbacks will be compelled to reconsider their decisions.

He said de-dollarisation of oil purchases was never the objective, emphasising that “most transactions were in dollars and always had been”. “Inside the US, he (Trump) said, ‘Drill, baby, drill’, which is a signal to drill more and extract more oil,” he said.