The basket of crude oil that Indian refiners buy hit a new high of $96 per barrel on Wednesday, the latest day for which data are available. The basket, which comprises Oman-Dubai sour (high sulphur) grade crude oil and Brent dated sweet (low sulphur) crude oil in a 61.4:38.6 ratio, has averaged $91.91 per barrel this month compared with $89.52 per barrel in January and $87.92 in December. The price of the Indian basket of crude oil has been reflecting the soaring futures price of oil in the New York Mercantile Exchange, which hit an all-time high of $102.08 per barrel on Wednesday, before falling to below $100 per barrel at the end of the day. CRUDE GAINS Price of Indian crude oil basket (in $/bbl) Feb avg (so far) 91.91 Jan avg 89.52 Dec avg 87.92 Highest price (Feb 27, 08) 96.00 Previous highest (Feb 20, 08) 94.96 US light sweet oil for April delivery was trading at just over $99 per barrel in New York on Thursday. The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark primarily produced from the North Sea, has also been trading at over $99 per barrel in London.