Media reports suggests that India has agreed to pay the price of crude oil it imports from Iran in gold, which makes it the first country to drop the US dollar for purchasing the Iranian oil. Citing an Israeli intelligence website, The Times of India has reported that India is opting for gold to repay crude oil supplies from Iran. The website, Debkafile, said the transaction will be routed through UCO Bank, the Kolkata-based public sector lender. However, the authenticity of the news could not be confirmed as the Indian government has neither confirmed nor rejected the option of paying in gold for oil imports from Iran. India, which is highly dependent on imports to meet its crude oil consumption needs, is Iran's second-largest oil customer after China and purchases around $12 billion worth of Iranian crude every year, about 12 percent of its consumption. On Dec. 31, 2011, US President Barack Obama signed new sanctions into law, seeking to penalize countries importing Iran's oi...