Oil prices

Responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Puri said, "In the last three financial years, we imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia, and in the first nine months of this fiscal, only 0.2 per cent of our oil requirement has been imported from Russia."

This comes after the government run Indian Oil Corporation purchased three million barrels of Russian crude oil last week, which was offered at a steep discount to the prevailing international rates. The US has stated that India would not be violating US sanctions by purchasing discounted Russian oil, however "such a move would be equal to supporting Moscow's aggression in Ukraine".

In recent days, fares have risen by around 20-25 per cent on most domestic routes on a month-on-month basis. With ATF prices being hiked to over Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre, fares are expected to rise further. "This time the industry had already braced for an ATF price hike, with most of the airlines hiking fares on certain legs by about 20-25 per cent in the past couple of days," said Aloke Bajpai, Co-founder and Group CEO, ixigo.

High crude oil prices on Wednesday led OMCs to hike aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by over 18 per cent to more than Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre, the steepest hike ever. Accordingly, in the national capital, the price of jet fuel was raised by 18.32 per cent to Rs 1,10,666.29 per kilolitre (kl) from Rs 93,530.66 per kl.

The war has caused the falling of global diesel stocks and other middle distillates to the lowest seasonal level since 2008. The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), a body of oil industry, had already warned the Pakistani government about the diesel shortage crisis due to depletion of stocks globally. Other reason was that Pakistani banks had also put the oil companies in high-risk category and refused to grant loans.

"Beyond that period, it is likely that [the] lack of availability of crude sunflower seed oil and limited alternatives will lead to a shortfall of refined/bottled sunflower seed oil on the European market, and that this will be felt up to the consumer level," reads the latest FEDIOL press release, RT reported. According to the association, the conflict in Ukraine has already prevented approximately 200,000 tonnes of sunflower seed oil per month from being shipped to European ports.

Accordingly, the annual rate of inflation, based on wholesale prices, rose to 13.11 per cent last month from 12.96 per cent reported for January 2022. Similarly, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed an exponential rise last month over February 2021, when it stood at 4.83 per cent.

Shortage of sunflower oil amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has sent crude palm oil prices through the roof. The geo-political worries in the Black Sea region has a significant bearing on sunflower seed and its oil supply from the region, as both countries involved in the war are major sources for the oilseed. India is a major importer of crude palm oil, as the country meets more than two-third of its edible oil needs through imports, of which palm oil accounts for more than 60 per cent.

Continued hostilities between Russia and Ukraine as well as rising demand is expected to keep global crude oil prices in the range of $95-$125 per barrel in the short to medium term. On last Friday, the Brent-indexed crude oil price stood at over $112 per barrel. Just a few days ago, Brent rose to a 14-year high and crossed the $130 per barrel-mark. It neared the $140 per barrel level. Lately, crude oil prices have surged by more than 20 per cent on fears of tight supplies. Currently, Russia is one of the largest producers of crude oil in the world.

Growth of real estate as well as infrastructure sectors is expected to take a hit, as prices of cement are expected to rise further on the back of high energy costs. Notably, the Russia-Ukraine crisis has triggered a massive spike in crude oil, natural gas, and coal prices. The BE Capex is intended for infra creation, however, the rising cost might make it insufficient for all the planned projects.