After Rajasthan, petrol price on Thursday crossed the Rs 100 per litre mark in Madhya Pradesh after fuel rates were increased for the tenth day in a row. Petrol price was hiked by 34 paise per litre and diesel by 32 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. While branded or additive-laced petrol, which attracts higher taxes, had crossed the Rs 100-mark in some places in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, regular petrol crossed the physiological mark in Sriganganagar town of Rajasthan on Wednesday, and on Thursday it went past that mark in Madhya Pradesh. In Anuppur of Madhya Pradesh, petrol is priced at Rs 100.25 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.35. Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
Imports too tumbled by 58.65 per cent to $17.12 billion in April from $41.4 billion in the same month last year, according to the data by the commerce and industry ministry.
However, the net job loss in the export sector is estimated to be 7,48,000 since some sectors like plantation may witness a positive growth. The study said, during 2009-10, India's total exports are likely to dip by 2.2 per cent.
The government has brought back the windfall profit tax on domestically produced crude oil after international prices firmed up while the levy on export of diesel has been cut to nil, according to an official order. The levy on crude oil produced by companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is now Rs 6,400 per tonne with effect from Wednesday, the order dated April 18 said. At the last revision on April 4, windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil was cut to nil as international oil prices dipped below $75 per barrel.
Imports increased by 4.5 per cent, the highest growth in the last six months as crude oil and gold shipments shot up in the month.
'The impact of COVID-19 on the economy has been so overwhelming that even a significant drop in global oil prices, which in normal times would have brought cheer, has posed new challenges for the government,' observes A K Bhattacharya.
Corporate margins and profits in India remain vulnerable to changes in crude oil prices in the international market. Historical quarterly data from listed companies (excluding banks, finance and insurance, oil and gas, and power sectors) indicate an adverse correlation between corporate margins and crude oil prices.
Various global and domestic factors had a sizable impact on the performance of the Indian markets
India's exports dipped after a gap of four months in March but finished 2017-18 with a healthy rise of 9.78 per cent to $302.84 billion.
India, the world's third-largest energy consumer and importer, on Wednesday warned of high oil prices hurting the nascent and fragile global economic recovery and floated an idea of long-term supply contracts that provide predictable and stable pricing. Speaking at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there was a mismatch between demand for oil and the supplies producers such as OPEC+ were making and there was a case for raising the production. The world, he said, needs "predictable, stable and affordable" prices for it to recover back to pre-pandemic levels.
Shipments from Russia rose nearly 33 per cent to $1.1 billion in March from $831.17 million in the previous month, which was when the country mounted aggression on Ukraine and faced sanctions from Western nations, the data accessed by Business Standard shows. Growth in imports was largely on account of oil, people aware of the matter said. The Department of Commerce is learnt to have written to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), seeking details of imports, including the payment mechanism, which India has not made public.
Indian petroleum product exports are likely to rise three to five per cent this fiscal year from 2001/02, a senior industry official said on Monday.
The G20 chair has suggested three areas for the talks in Argentina - the future of work, infrastructure for development and a sustainable food future, areas where India has a lot at stake.
India's exports are estimated to have remained at around $312 billion in 2013, while the final figures for 2014 could be around this figure only.
Saudis are interested in expanding their relationship with India, given it is becoming the main driver of crude demand growth in Asia
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta's Sterlite Copper has come out with a fresh notification inviting expressions of interest (EoIs) to supply raw materials like copper concentrate, imported thermal coal, rock phosphate and petroleum products, among others, as part of its preparatory measures to restart production at its Thoothukudi unit in Tamil Nadu. This plant is likely to restart operations if a Supreme Court verdict goes in favour of the company. On June 12, the company had invited EoIs for carrying out plant 'restart activities'.
A plea of the UK-based Vedanta group company to export its share of crude oil from Barmer oil field in Rajasthan was on Tuesday rejected by the Delhi high court on the ground that domestic crude cannot be exported till India attained "self sufficiency".
Indian basket at 6-month low of $49.11 a bbl
The windfall taxes on domestic crude oil production and fuel exports will generate close to $12 billion (Rs 94,800 crore) for the government in the remainder of the current fiscal while trimming profits of firms such as Reliance Industries Ltd and ONGC, Moody's Investors Service said Tuesday. On July 1, the government imposed windfall gain taxes on the export of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), and on the domestic production of crude oil. It has also mandated exporters to meet the requirements of the domestic market first.
India is the world's fourth-largest importer of natural gas, accounting for six per cent of the global market.
'2019 was fought on delivery. But in 2024, you can see the before and after effects.'
Economists polled in a recent survey by Ficci unanimously felt that the rupee will continue to be under pressure in 2018-19
World trade has been growing slower than world GDP since 2012.
Most of India's oil supplies are expected to stay safe because of the country's good relations with both Russia and Iran. That would take care of over a third of India's supplies.
Oil prices continued their rout on Tuesday with Brent crude and U.S. WTI both falling to their lowest in almost six years as a big OPEC producer stood by the group's decision not to cut output to tackle a glut in the market.
These countries are feeling the heat from the US shale oil producers.
Crude oil's long price slide might be ending, feel some experts. Last Friday, the price of Brent crude, seen as a benchmark for what India uses, saw a low of $75.3 a barrel - it is now trading around $79. The fall has been nearly a third from its high seen in June, only five months earlier.
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The 30 Sensex companies alone, which are among the biggest companies in the country, now account for nearly 50% or about Rs 47 lakh crore of total investor wealth.
Lower crude oil prices would impact India's inflation, CAD.
Investors will keenly watch US Fed meet starting Tuesday
CARE Ratings, in a report, said it foresees an increase in the retail prices of petrol and diesel in the coming few days, depending on how the oil markets react in the reduction in supply from the cartel.
Nepal's decision to ban the import of non-essential items amid depleting forex reserves may hit Indian exports. The country's central bank - Nepal Rastra Bank - last week instructed commercial banks not to open letters of credit (LCs) for importing non-essential items. This is to prevent further decline of the country's foreign exchange reserves. However, it has not issued any formal communication yet.
OPEC hopes lower fuel prices will stimulate more demand in the long run
On the back of rising crude oil purchases, India's bill for imports from sanctions-hit Russia jumped 3.5 times in a year in April to $2.3 billion, showed data from the commerce ministry. In April, India's crude oil imports from Russia were valued at $1.3 billion, 57 per cent of India's total inbound shipments from Russia. Other major imported items during the month included coal, soybean and sunflower oil, fertilisers, and non-industrial diamonds. That month, Russia was also the fourth-largest crude petroleum supplier to India, after Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
If the war in the Israel-Gaza region escalates into a larger West Asian conflict, it could pose problems.
Chinese stock markets suffered their biggest single-day drop since the global financial crisis.
Russia has welcomed India's decision to not support the price cap on Russian oil announced by G7 and its allies and offered it cooperation on leasing and building large-capacity ships to overcome the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering in the European Union and Britain to continue buying discounted oil. The offer came as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak held a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Moscow, Pavan Kapoor, on Friday. "The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed India's decision not to support the price cap on Russian oil, which was imposed on December 5 by the G7 countries and their allies," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Achieving inflation target of 4 per cent, recovery after remonetisation and hardening profile of oil prices are some of the risks which the RBI is watching closely, says Gaurav Kapur.
Recently, The World Bank has come up with the latest figures on the wealthiest countries in the world.
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