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17 December 2013, Gateway House

Reassessing Brent benchmark for crude oil

The allegations against several oil companies and price reporting agencies like Platts have raised concerns about the credibility of the global oil benchmarking architecture. While there is a need for corrections to the existing structure, the time is right for BRICS to develop alternate options

Former Director of Research

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There is reason to believe that the Brent benchmark for global crude oil prices is being manipulated. This has serious implications for oil import dependent countries like India. The opaqueness of the price setting process makes it difficult to establish rigging, but it is in the interests of India and other large developing countries to bring out the real picture.

Akshay Mathur is Head of Research at Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations.

This article was written exclusively for Economic and Political Weekly and can be read here. You can find more exclusive features here. 

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