Crude oil prices touch all-time highBS Reporter / New Delhi April 11, 2008The basket of crude oil that Indian refiners buy reached an all-time high of $104.41 per barrel on Thursday, the latest day for which data is available. The price of the basket went past its previous all-time high of $103.80 per barrel, recorded on March 14 this year, after global crude oil prices in New York hit a fresh high of over $112 per barrel on Wednesday.Global oil prices were trading at around the $110 per barrel mark on Friday.The price of crude oil in world markets rose by over $4 per barrel in the last week after data showed a sharp fall in crude oil and fuel stocks in the US. This also resulted in the price of the Indian basket of crude oil, which comprises Oman-Dubai sour (high sulphur) grade crude oil and Brent dated sweet (low sulphur) crude oil in 61.4:38.6 ratio, staying over the $100 per barrel mark during the week, data from the petroleum ministry showed.The price of the basket has averaged $100.40 per barrel in April so far. It averaged $99.76 in March and $92.37 per barrel in February. The high crude oil prices have resulted in the government's three oil marketing companies losing over Rs 440 crore per day as they sell petrol, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene at subsidised prices. The three companies
