DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates and India settled this week their first oil transaction using rupees, as India’s top refiner, Indian Oil Corp., bought a million barrels from the Gulf country.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) received the rupee payment of an undisclosed amount from Indian Oil Corp., according to an Indian Embassy statement acquired by Reuters on Monday.
Last month, the two countries agreed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Abu Dhabi, to settle bilateral trade in rupees instead of dollars, increasing India's ability to cut transaction costs by eliminating dollar conversions.
Earlier in March, the UAE Central Bank began implementing its digital dirham strategy following a financial cooperation agreement with India the year before. Using digital currencies, UAE-India transactions can bypass the need and expense of converting to an intermediary currency such as the dollar.
