Corporate India is more dependent than before on exporters of IT services such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, and Wipro for earning foreign exchange. Such companies account for nearly 43 per cent of the forex revenues of listed firms, up from 22 per cent a decade ago. The listed IT services companies earned nearly Rs 4.2 trillion through exports in FY22, up 15 per cent from the Rs 3.65 trillion a year earlier. In comparison, the forex revenues or exports of the rest of the BSE500 companies were down 11.9 per cent to Rs 5.6 trillion last financial year.
India's appetite for imported crude oil may wane in fiscal year (FY) 2023 from record levels in pre-pandemic 2019-20 fiscal as higher oil prices, a spillover from the conflict in Ukraine, and increasing use of biofuels affect domestic demand for petroleum products. Brent crude surged to a nine-year high, shy of a July 2008 record $147.50 a barrel, before declining to around $100 a barrel - but the volatility in commodity rates will slow global economic growth and use of fuels. Demand for all oil products may grow at only 2-3 per cent in FY23, slower than the current fiscal and nearly half the 5.5 per cent growth estimated by the petroleum ministry, according to industry officials.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra jumped 5.58 per cent, followed by Nestle, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Wipro and Bajaj Finserv. Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards.
Cumulative exports during April-August of 2017-18 rose by 8.57 per cent to $118.57 billion
Imports also rose by 2.6 per cent to $41.1 billion in the month under review, leaving a trade deficit of $14.92 billion.
Investors and companies should brace for higher commodity prices over the next few weeks in the backdrop of Russian troops attacking Ukraine on Thursday. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden threatened new sanctions against Russia for an act of aggression against Ukraine. All this, analysts believe, can push prices of key commodities such as crude oil, ammonia, urea, potash, and phosphates higher.
India's top oil and gas producer ONGC wants the government to scrap windfall profit tax levied on domestically produced crude oil and instead use the dividend route to tap into bumper earnings resulting from surge in global energy prices. The firm also favours a floor price for natural gas at $10 per million British thermal unit -- the current government-dictated rate -- to help bring deposits in challenging areas to production, two sources aware of the matter said. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) management during discussions with government officials stated that levying windfall profit tax on domestic oil producers, while at the same time reaping rich savings from buying discounted oil from Russia was unfair.
With crude oil flirting with the $100 a barrel mark, world's largest oil producer Saudi Arabia is emulating marketing savvy West to showcase oil cartel Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in a new light when it organises the third OPEC Summit in Riyadh this week.
The oil ministry is believed to have turned down Reliance Petroleum Ltd's request to export LPG from its newly commissioned refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat, forcing the only-for-exports unit to sell the cooking fuel locally.
Oil prices could reach $100 per barrel if there were "dramatic" developments in the Gulf or elsewhere, a leading oil official has said.
The government is considering a ban on export of kerosene oil (jet kero) and aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which are similar to kerosene, to boost supplies of kerosene for public distribution system.
The last few years have been uncharacteristically good for the Indian sugar sector for a variety of reasons. While on the one hand, the weather supported good crop production; on the other hand, the programme to blend ethanol with petrol took off in a big way. The long-pending problem of burgeoning sugarcane arrears almost came down to nil and exports boomed to record highs.
Low fuel prices to help oil marketing and refining sectors but upstream players will stay under pressure.
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Country's exports stood at $24 billion in June last year while imports were at $35.3 billion, the data showed.
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.
Oil fell below $59 a barrel for the first time since May 2009 on Tuesday, extending a six-month selloff as slowing Chinese factory activity and weakening emerging-market currencies added to concerns about demand.
The growth rate has been the lowest since October, 2009, when it contracted by 6.6 per cent.
The drop in oil to around $50 a barrel this year has triggered steep cutbacks in production of US shale oil
Banks may reduce their interest rates.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 46 per cent jump in net profit for the three months ended June on the back of bumper earnings from oil and telecom businesses. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit rose to Rs 17,955 crore during April-June period -- the first quarter of 2022-23 fiscal year -- from Rs 12,273 crore in the year-ago period, it said a stock exchange filing.
India has asked oil cartel Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise crude oil production to stem the relentless rise in international oil prices that have threatened to derail import dependent economies such as India.
Exports in January 2014 stood at $26.89 billion.
Indian Oil Corp is ranked highest at 161st in the Fortune 500 list.
'80% of the rural and urban population don't have enough purchasing power.'
India's exports increased 3.79 per cent to $26.75 billion in January, helping the trade deficit to narrow to $9.92 billion.
The declining exports would have implications for the job market.
The imports during August registered an increase of 32.64 per cent, mainly on account of high growth in import of non-oil items, which increased by 39.57 per cent. Imports during April-August went up by 31.07 per cent.
Officials from State-run refiners contend that savings from purchase of Russian oil are used to offset a part of the losses in revenues from selling transport fuels and LPG at State-set rates.
India imported goods worth $4.23 billion in June from sanctions-hit Russia, up 6.8 times as compared to last year, as demand for shipments of crude oil grew at the fastest pace during the month. Crude oil worth $3.02 billion was imported in June, which translates into a share of 71 per cent of the total imports from Russia, commerce and industry ministry data showed. Similarly, during the April-June quarter, India's imports from Russia were valued at $9.27 billion, up 369 per cent on year.
The government should scrap the windfall profit tax on domestically produced crude oil as the levy is adversely impacting the capex-intensive exploration of oil and gas, the industry said in its recommendation for the forthcoming annual Budget. India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1, joining a growing number of nations that tax super normal profits of energy companies. At that time, a Rs 23,250 per tonne ($40 per barrel) windfall profit tax on domestic crude production was levied.
In the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bharti Airtel were the major laggards. Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, NTPC and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
The government said on Monday that a prolonged US-led war against Iraq, along with the conflict's impact on oil prices, could hurt the nation's export performance.
Contrary to expectations, global oil prices, which have touched a 21-year high, are unlikely to fall substantially even if oil producer cartel OPEC raises production, industry officials said on Thursday.
Pakistan's current account deficit (CAD) increased to a 4-year high of $17.4 billion in the fiscal year of 2021-22, indicating more troubles for the ailing economy of the cash-strapped country. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday reported that the country recorded a CAD of $17.406 billion in FY22 compared to a gap of just $2.82 billion in FY21. According to Dawn newspaper, the massive CAD speaks a lot about the severe problem of the balance of payments.
The rupee bounced back by 10 paise to end at 68.62 on Friday.
The State Department said as India's number one overseas market, the US purchases close to one-fifth of its exports. India is also the fastest growing major market for American goods.
"At the moment, the fall is arrested (and it) is very clear. The growth is happening. We will only be looking at the steady growth. It may be slow but steady," Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi.
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