"We welcome the ceasefire reached and hope that it will lead to lasting peace in West Asia. As we have continuously advocated earlier, de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy are essential to bring an early end to the ongoing conflict," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. "The conflict has caused immense suffering to people and disrupted global energy supply and trade networks. We expect that unimpeded freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce would prevail through the Strait of Hormuz," it said.

Supply normalization

India's energy outlook brightened on Wednesday after a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US triggered a sharp drop in crude prices and reopened hopes of supply normalization through the world's most critical energy corridor.

India, the world's third-largest energy consumer and fourth-biggest gas user, imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, around half of its NG requirements and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. More than half of these crude imports, about 40 per cent of NG and as much as 85-90 per cent of LPG shipments are sourced from Gulf countries and transit through the Strait of Hormuz - the world's most critical energy corridor that was shut because of West Asia conflict. PTI