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.
Making sense of the international crude market is incredibly hard.
Bangkok is a fast, 24-hour megapolis, full of joie de vivre and buoyance that you will be instantly smitten, like I was.
As it is, a great deal of oil is produced in countries with little to underpin their economies besides oil, so pricing the black stuff in an international currency makes sense, especially when that currency is that of the primary buyer of the oil concerned. It makes things simple for the buyer and lets the seller take its revenue in a major currency.
OPEC, which has oil reserves that constitute 80 percent of the total global reserves, is unwilling to increase output to bring down oil prices. This makes OPEC too responsible for the rising oil prices, apart from the weak dollar. OPEC has said that world oil demand this year is forecast to grow by 1.2 million barrels daily to an average of 87 million barrels per day. As OPEC's output remains insufficient to cover rising demand from Asian region, oil prices will tend to rise.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that surging global oil prices may pull down India's economic growth by 0.5 per cent but expected stable interest rates to spur investment.
According to the 'American Express Business Travel Monitor' which tracks and analyses published airfares on a quarterly basis, 'although fares moderated in the fourth quarter, the influences of rising oil prices and economic growth in the region are too strong to keep prices steady'.
For the current fiscal, the import bill has been pegged at $66 billion at an average import price of $48 per barrel
The consolidated net profit of Marico, the maker of Parachute coconut oil, declined 0.7 per cent in the second quarter (July-September) of 2025-26 (Q2FY26).
'An asset must generate income. Equities yield dividends, bonds pay coupons, deposits give interest, and real estate earns rent.' 'Gold, silver, and even Bitcoin produce no income, they merely store value. So, they should not be compared to productive assets.'
As global tensions put pressure on the cost of crude oil, sending petrol prices above 1 a litre across the UK, This is Money investment writer Philip Scott investigates how investors can profit from rising oil prices.
Retail inflation slipped to a multi-year low of 0.25 per cent in October, driven by the impact of the GST rate cut and subdued prices of vegetables and fruits, government data showed on Wednesday.
The year is not yet over and a few more duty hikes are not ruled out.
Saudi Arabia's deep pockets and a strong financial system could help the country to ride out a low-price environment in order to protect its market share.
Oil prices hit two-and-a-half-year highs in Asian trade on Friday as violence continued to wrack the Middle East and threatened to spread to other bigger oil producers in the region, analysts said.
The rupee plunged 38 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.32 against the US dollar on Thursday amid uncertainty over the India-US trade deal. Forex traders said the rupee is expected to trade with a negative bias as the delay in the trade deal between India and the US may continue to dent investor confidence.
The rise in consumer price index (CPI) inflation could see the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in an extended pause mode as regards interest rates, and in turn, keep the market rally in check, believe analysts. Signs of inflation cooling off in the US, however, is likely to provide some cushion as the expectations of a change in stance by the US Fed as regards interest rates is likely to aid sentiment. Back home, CPI inflation surged for the first time in five months to 4.81 per cent in June 2023, and was higher than the street's expectations of 4.58 per cent.
Global supply is staying in excess of demand.
India's Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has predicted that the 'oil bubble' will burst soon.\n\n
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) stayed in negative territory for the second consecutive month at (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as prices of food articles and fuel saw deflation, even though prices of manufactured items increased, government data showed on Thursday.
Sensex sinks 573 pts on global tensions and high crude prices
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 9.6 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit for the September quarter, driven by strong performance in its consumer-facing retail and telecom businesses and a recovery in its core oil-to-chemicals segment.
US crude oil futures edged down on Tuesday after hitting an 8-week high of $82 a barrel on Monday.
India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $41.68 billion in October, as gold imports trebled and outbound shipments registered their sharpest contraction in 14 months, according to data released by the commerce department.
"This year (2009-10), our WPI is low and I don't see any problem on the horizon which could destabilise us except oil prices which remain a question," said Rajya Sabha MP and former Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan. On the high fiscal deficit, Jalan said he did not think stimulus packages posed a problem. On taxation, he said it would not be good for the country not to have a reasonable rate of tax on profit and dividend.
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
The real benefits can be seen when prices stabilise, preferably at levels acceptable to both consumers and producers.
Communist Party India on Thursday asked the government and the public sector oil companies to share the burden of the surge in crude oil prices and expressed the desire to be consulted before any final decision on fuel pricing is taken.
The task of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to keep inflation under check, even when the country reeled under severe drought for two years in a row, and reduce the current account deficit, was made easier by low crude oil prices.
India's brittle energy security is inextricably linked to two opposing paradigms - fossil fuels, and the transition to green energy. The first powers the present; the second paves the way for Viksit Bharat in 2047.
Equity market investors would track global trends, foreign fund movement and quarterly earnings in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Stock exchanges BSE and NSE will conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Tuesday, October 21.
United States representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove while talking about the famous car selfie of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it spoke a thousand words.
Merrill Lynch warned that oil prices could fall as low as $25 a barrel next year if the recession affecting the US, Europe and Japan extended to China, the main driver of demand growth in commodity markets in recent years.
Rising crude oil prices along with hardening interest rates in the domestic market have taken a toll on India Inc's growth outlook in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Fears of an economic slowdown in the US, and a consequent spread of the crisis to Europe and other parts of the world, resulted in oil prices falling over 12 per cent since Monday, the largest weekly fall since early 2004.
"The prime minister is thinking of having a meeting of all political leaders and it could take place in the second week of next month," sources in the government said. While the agriculture scenario was comfortable spiralling crude oil prices in the international market was causing a concern, they said. Crude oil reached $96 a barrel mark early this month. However, it has come a notch lower now.
Stock investors will track the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, Brent crude oil prices, inflation data and the US Fed interest rate decision for further cues this week, analysts said. Tariff-related news would also dictate trends in the equity market, experts noted.
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