Gold and silver prices saw a significant decline in the national capital, with silver falling by Rs 7,800 to Rs 2.43 lakh per kilogram and gold by Rs 1,500 to Rs 1.54 lakh per 10 grams, as investors booked profits amid persistent doubts over the durability of the West Asia ceasefire.
Domestic LPG and commercial cylinder prices in India have seen a significant increase, driven by rising global energy costs linked to the conflict in West Asia. This marks the second price hike in less than a year, impacting households and businesses.
Why would a country that requires close to $90 billion in net foreign capital annually to create jobs, build productive capacity, and sustain rapid growth permit $30 billion of capital to flow abroad, thereby contributing to pressure on the rupee? asks Debashis Basu.
'Even last year, when India bought gold, the physical quantity was much less than the previous years.'
Murali Deora, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas has urged the need for sustainable international oil prices stating that the high oil prices are neither in the interest of oil importing countries nor beneficial to the exporting nations.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges Indians to travel less, rising fuel prices are already changing driving habits.
The Americans can occupy Bab el Mandeb, claim to have 'solved' the Strait of Hormuz crisis, declare victory that President Trump so desperately needs, points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
'Once the market decides it wants to go up, it goes up -- no amount of bad news can really hold it back.'
India will maintain multiple sources for crude oil purchases and diversify them to ensure stability in the supply chain with national interests remaining the "guiding factor" for the procurement, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Precious metal prices surged in futures trading, with silver hitting Rs 2.93 lakh per kg and gold nearing Rs 1.68 lakh per 10 grams, driven by safe-haven demand following US-Israel strikes in Iran and retaliatory attacks.
India should not stay on the margins of this initiative. There should be a serious debate about what would be in India's best interests asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Prime Minister Modi has urged citizens to adopt measures like judicious fuel use, postponing gold purchases, and deferring foreign travel to strengthen India's economy in the face of the West Asia conflict's adverse impact.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the US is ready to sell as much energy as India is willing to buy. He described India as a 'great partner' ahead of his visit to New Delhi.
Analysts predict continued volatility in Indian equity markets due to domestic macroeconomic data, F&O expiry, global developments including US tariff policies, and geopolitical tensions.
There are enough people at the top decision-making level in Tehran who are still willing to negotiate, provided Trump can create the right setting for the negotiation to acquire a dynamic of its own, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Replacing over a third of India's oil imports at competitive rates is going to be a challenge, said traders from State refiners, even though some progress was made in the last two months.
Tata Motors' MD and CEO, Girish Wagh, has identified rising diesel prices as the most significant threat to India's commercial vehicle (CV) industry recovery, despite the sector recently surpassing its pre-FY19 wholesale peak. Diesel costs account for 25-50% of a truck operator's total cost of ownership, making any increase a critical concern for fleet economics.
Revenue collection next financial year may be affected, and, along with this, subsidies on food and fertilisers can go up if the war in West Asia drags for long, according to experts.
Gold and silver prices experienced a significant drop in the national capital due to a global selloff driven by inflation concerns, central bank policies, and geopolitical tensions.
Uncertainty stemming from the US-Iran conflict has significantly impacted India's mutual fund industry, leading to a sharp decline in new fund offers (NFOs) in March, despite numerous regulatory approvals. This geopolitical tension, coupled with existing market strain and distributor hesitation, has dampened investor sentiment and affected overall inflows.
The big question is whether Trump is any longer in command of the situation. For all practical purposes, the war seems set to cascade as the US is preparing for a potential ground operation in Iran and threatens to destroy 'bridges next, then electric power plants', points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'So far our production is not affected. But every day the situation prolongs, it does bring risks in terms of shipments getting delayed.'
The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers to be hosted by India.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in India for a BRICS foreign ministers' meeting, where discussions will focus on the escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on global energy supply chains.
India's new manufacturing project announcements more than halved in the fourth quarter of FY26, falling 60 per cent sequentially and 78 per cent year-on-year to approximately 1.7 trillion, driven by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts in West Asia, and existing unutilised manufacturing capacity.
Worried about the possibility of oil prices' pushing up inflation, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday said chances of prices going up in the coming days need to be viewed against this background.
The Trump administration maintains the US is 'not at war' with Iran, despite military engagement reaching a critical legal threshold under the War Powers Resolution, potentially leading to a confrontation with Congress.
If international crude oil prices zoom past the current level of about $90 per barrel and move towards $100 and beyond, middle-class consumers are not going to keep quiet about their discomfort, points out Arun Balakrishnan, former chairman and managing director, Hindustan Petroleum.
Come December, India may have to re-evaluate purchases of Russian oil if a price cap on crude oil proposed by the US and the European Union (EU) comes into effect. That impacts nearly a quarter of India's oil purchases that come at a discount, helping limit marketing losses for India's state refiners and enabling New Delhi to manage inflation by freezing pump prices of motor fuels. In September, India imported 1 million barrels a day or 24 per cent of its overall imports from Russia, which became the biggest supplier of oil to India.
The Indian government has increased import duties on gold and silver from 6 per cent to 15 per cent to curb inbound shipments of precious metals amid a rising import bill due to the West Asia crisis.
In the present hyper-connected world, there are many domestic and global factors that affect financial markets. Of them, the most powerful and often least predictable are geopolitical events, which often boil down to one diplomatic headline.
Moody's Ratings has downgraded India's growth forecast for financial year 2026-27 (FY27) to 6 per cent from 6.8 per cent, attributing the revision to weaker consumption and industrial activity, elevated energy prices, and rising input costs stemming from the West Asia conflict.
The government has reduced the tariff value for import of edible oil, including palm oil, by up to $112 per tonne, a move which experts said can lead to lower domestic prices. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), through a notification, has cut the tariff import value of crude palm oil by $86 per tonne, and of RBD and crude palmolein by $112 per tonne each. It also reduced the base import price of crude soyabean oil by $37 per tonne. The changes in tariff value of edible oil are effective from Thursday (June 17).
Lavrov said that the US has set itself the objective of 'achieving economic domination', adding further to it that Americans want to control the routes to leading countries to provide its energy sources to them.
Indian equity investors experienced a significant loss of 16.32 lakh crore due to a two-day stock market decline fueled by escalating geopolitical tensions involving the US, Israel, and Iran.
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.
Even if there is an early agreement on a cessation of hostilities in West Asia, the price shock will not go away easily, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The current oil prices at nearly $83 a barrel, which are slightly above the $70-80 band, are ideal for producers and consumers and are at sustainable levels, Saudi Arabia Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi has said in a news report.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported a significant 52 per cent year-on-year increase in gains from foreign exchange transactions, reaching 1.69 trillion in FY26. This surge occurred despite the central bank selling a gross $195 billion in the spot market to manage rupee volatility, which saw a 9.85 per cent depreciation.
As tensions in the Middle East approach a critical juncture, reports have surfaced regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran aimed at de-escalating the ongoing conflict, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.
