Oil companies choose to skip the revision this time.
Consumer-focused companies have been left with few options but to increase the prices of their products as input costs mount because of various factors, including supply chain disruptions. This has been affecting monthly household budgets. Prices of scores of items -- from spices to soaps to rice -- have increased in the past year.
The satta market is accepting bets on how many times Modiji will mention Nehru at his election rallies, says A Ganesh Nadar with a wink.
Petrol and diesel prices were on Wednesday hiked by 24-25 paise per litre, the steepest increase since July 5 Union Budget, as a fallout of turmoil in global oil markets following drone attacks on Saudi Arabian crude oil facilities.
With the losses incurred by oil marketing companies (OMC's) on selling regulated fuels below their market prices (under-recoveries) reaching alarming levels, an urgent corrective action, like hiking the price of diesel, has become imperative, says a Crisil study.
The staggered increase in kerosene rate may not have the same impact of freeing up the fuel price as for diesel.
CNG price in the national capital and adjoining cities on Tuesday was hiked by Rs 0.50 per kg, while an imminent increase in petrol and diesel price has been put on wait-and-watch mode for more clarity on global oil prices. CNG price in NCT of Delhi has been increased to Rs 57.51 per kg from Rs 56.51, according to the information posted on the website of Indraprastha Gas Ltd - the firm which retails CNG and piped cooking gas in the national capital. Following the firming up of international gas rates, IGL has been raising CNG rates by up to 50 paise (Rs 0.50) per kg periodically. Prices have gone up by about Rs 4 per kg this year alone.
The wholesale food index rose 2.88 per cent year-on-year.
Diesel price on Monday was hiked by 25 paise per litre -- the third increase since last week -- and more rate hikes for both diesel and petrol are in the offing in the coming days as international oil prices have soared to a three-year high. The price of diesel was hiked to Rs 89.32 per litre in Delhi and to Rs 96.94 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second straight day of increase in diesel prices and the third since September 24 when the state-owned oil firms ended a three-week hiatus in rates.
IOC, BPCL and HPCL on Thursday afternoon stopped ATF supplies to Air India at six airports - Kochi, Pune, Patna, Ranchi, Vizag and Mohali - over payment defaults. AI flights from these places were tanking up from other airports.
As the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, India is running out of options as the relentless surge in international oil prices make it imperative to pass them on to consumers, officials said on Monday. India imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs and about half of its natural gas requirement. While the imported crude oil is turned into fuels such as petrol and diesel, gas is used as CNG in automobiles and fuel in factories.
Petrol price was hiked by 30 paise per litre and diesel by 35 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The seventh straight day of price hike pushed fuel rates to a new record high. The price of petrol in Delhi rose to its highest-ever level of Rs 104.44 a litre and Rs 110.41 per litre in Mumbai, the notification showed. In Mumbai, diesel now comes for Rs 101.03 a litre; while in Delhi, it costs Rs 93.17.
India's economic growth will be above 6 per cent in the current fiscal as the country has managed to strengthen its macroeconomic stability and performance even in a period of large global shocks, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member Ashima Goyal said on Monday. Goyal further said that a global slowdown reducing India's export growth, geopolitics fueling oil and food prices, and erratic weather are some of the continuing risks that the country faces. "India has managed to strengthen its macroeconomic stability and performance even in a period of large global shocks.
Air India on Tuesday signed agreements with Airbus and Boeing for acquiring 470 planes for an estimated $70 billion at list prices. The Tata Group-owned airline had announced that it will buy 470 aircraft, including wide-body planes, in February this year. The "firm orders include 34 A350-1000, 6 A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft," the airline said in a release.
The stormy second part of Budget Session continues. Both houses of Parliament have been facing continuous protests by opposition parties over issues like fuel price hike.
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased in January to 0.27 per cent, mainly due to moderation in prices of food items. WPI inflation was at 0.73 per cent in December 2023. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.39 per cent.
The faster-than-expected rise in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve (US Fed) shook global financial markets in early 2022. And now the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has lifted commodity prices, with Brent crude oil hitting a 14-year high of $139 a barrel in intraday trade. All these developments have sent the equity markets across the world into a tailspin.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Wednesday, taking the total increase in rates in 16 days to Rs 10 per litre.
'The actual price of petrol is Rs 35 and it jumps to Rs 88 because of government taxes.'
After Reliance Industries Ltd and its partner bp plc of the UK, Nayara Energy - the nation's largest private fuel retailer - has started selling petrol and diesel at Re 1 less than the fuel sold by state-owned retailers, officials said. While state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) continue to hold prices despite a drop in international rates, private fuel retailers have started passing on the benefit to consumers. "To further stimulate domestic consumption and cater to local customers better, we have introduced a Re 1 discount in our retail outlets until the end of June 2023," a spokesperson for Nayara Energy said.
General Motors India on Thursday posted 4.32 per cent decline in sales at 8,901 units in February. The company had sold 9,303 units in the same month of 2010, General Motors India said in a statement.
The price of aviation turbine fuel has increased by 50 per cent since January and the situation has adversely impacted IndiGo, its CEO Ronojoy Dutta said on Wednesday. He said the government should bring aviation turbine fuel (ATF) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and make flying affordable for consumers and viable for airlines. IndiGo is India's largest airline and with around 55 per cent share in the domestic passenger market.
The government on Tuesday increased the windfall profit tax on crude oil produced in the country and reduced the levy on exports of diesel. The tax, levied in the form of Special Additional Excise Duty or SAED, on domestically produced crude oil was increased to Rs 9,800 per tonne from Rs 9,050 a tonne, according to an official notification. SAED on the export of diesel was reduced to Rs 2 per litre from Rs 4 a litre and on jet fuel or ATF to nil from Rs 1, the notification said.
Adding petrol and diesel to GST was a challenging task due to their significant role as revenue generators for both the central and state governments.
They were shut when PSUs were selling heavily subsidised fuel; will reopen now, buoyed by diesel decontrol
State-owned fuel retailers, who control 95 per cent of the petrol pump sales, sell diesel at government-fixed rates, which are way lower than the cost of production.
The S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 have hit record highs amid the poll outcome-triggered bull frenzy at the bourses. Most analysts feel that the indices are on course to rise further over the next few months - till the general elections - albeit amid intermittent corrections - largely triggered by global developments. Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) win in the three state elections of Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, analysts at Jefferies believe, reinforces the consensus expectations of a Modi win 2024 national elections with a greater likelihood of over 300 seats for the BJP.
Reliance has a 24 per cent conversion rate of 'oil-to-chemicals' at present and may be targeting 70 per cent conversion.
Lessor market sources said with the fuel prices remaining high, IndiGo would get better rates for the fuel-efficient A320neos.
Power generating companies (gencos) that use imported coal to produce electricity, may find it difficult to switch on their idle units immediately in the wake of high fuel costs, several players have told Business Standard. Recently, the Union power ministry had invoked Section 11 of the Electricity Act mandating all imported coal-based plants to generate power at full capacity. However, some generating companies that use imported coal, argue that it is simply unviable for them to produce power when the price of coal in the international market is high, while the per-unit price of power has been capped at Rs 12 per unit on the domestic power exchange.
China on Tuesday announced a major policy change for its crisis-ridden power sector by allowing coal-fired power plants to charge their industrial and commercial customers market-driven prices. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China said the electricity generated by coal-fired plants would discover price in market trading "in an orderly manner" from October 15. This is being done to pass on the high costs of coal and is being held up as the boldest reform in the Chinese power sector.
Cooking gas LPG price was on Thursday hiked by Rs 3.50 per cylinder, the second increase in rate this month following the firming of international energy rates. Non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 1,003 per 14.2-kg cylinder in the national capital, up from Rs 999.50 previously, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the second increase in LPG rate this month and the third in less than two months. The price was hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder on March 22 and again by the same quantum on May 7.
'With the deployment of a higher degree of mechanisation, awarding contractual mining to MDOs and operational efficiency, we feel confident of achieving the desired target.'
On the exports front, Bajaj is under pressure in Bangladesh and Africa. On the domestic front, it could ride improvement in rural demand and new launches but it also has to cope with competitive intensity and a high base. The management projects 7-8 per cent volume growth in domestic 2W in financial year 2025 (FY25) with moderation in H2FY25 due to a high base Y-o-Y.
The wholesale price-based inflation eased to a five-month low of 13.93 per cent in July on easing prices of food articles and manufactured products. The WPI-based inflation softened for the second consecutive month in July, raising hopes of further decline in wholesale prices in the months to come. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation, after scaling a record high of 15.88 per cent in May, declined to 15.18 per cent in June. It was 13.43 per cent in February. It was 11.57 per cent in July last year.
Though June-quarter performance was impressive, fuel price hikes and falling demand pose fresh challenges for the company.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday reported a 5 per cent fall in the net profit for the July-September quarter, as weak oil refining and petrochemical business hurt operational performance.
India, where energy consumption per person is among the lowest in the world, has little elasticity in its fuel use as it tries to power exports and agriculture to help boost its economy and stave off a currency crisis.
'Pump prices of petrol and diesel have reached historical highs. An unwinding of taxes on petroleum products by both the Centre and the states could ease the cost-push pressures,' the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said.
Russian oil supplies to India will continue to flow unhindered and suppliers will come up with ways to sidestep secondary sanctions, a Russian official told Business Standard.
