Oil prices

The government has made every effort to regain Iran's oil share in the market and to increase it, Xinhua news agency quoted Mehr as saying to local media. "Necessary measures are being taken for the sanctions and post-sanctions time" for Iran to return to the world market, he was quoted as saying. Iran's position in supplying the world with oil is special, the NIOC chief said.

The basic assumption in formulating the Budget that the crude oil prices will remain in the range of $ 75-80/barrel, has become unrealistic, not long after the Budget was presented. However, the breaking of war between Russia and Ukraine has created grave uncertainty and poses a serious threat to both growth and stability. The war has driven the prices to USD 130/barrel; this is likely to have a significant impact on transportation and energy costs and the manufacturing output, Rao said.

A staggered rise in domestic transportation fuel prices are expected soon as Brent Crude oil price remains above $125 per barrel. At present, India imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. It is estimated that the high crude oil prices will raise prices of domestic transportation fuels in the range from Rs 10 to Rs 32 per litre.

Removing Russian oil from the market would make energy prices skyrocket to over $300 per barrel of oil, Russia's deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak has said, adding that Russia is not dependent on the West and can "reroute" its supplies elsewhere. Russia is not that dependent on the West and "knows where to reroute" its supplies if needed. Still, Moscow will not take reciprocal measures against Europe in this case, he added.

David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme (WFP), has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could send global food prices soaring, with a catastrophic impact on the world's poorest, the BBC reported. Beasley said the conflict was putting more people at risk of starvation worldwide. Russia and Ukraine, once dubbed "the breadbasket of Europe", export about a quarter of the world's wheat and half of its sunflower products, like seeds and oil. Ukraine also sells a lot of corn globally.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis-led global hike in crude oil prices to $130 per barrel is expected to trigger an inflationary trend in India which will dent growth as well as demand recovery. The inflationary blow is expected to push up prices of everything from food items to manufactured goods. Besides, the trend might force the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee to raise key lending rates, thereby hitting automobile and housing markets.

Indian economy is expected to incur an additional $70 billion burden (or 1.9 per cent of the country's GDP) in FY23 as compared to the current fiscal at an average crude price of $120 per barrel, said brokerage house Kotak Securities. Steep crude prices will pose stiff challenges in the form of higher current account deficit, higher inflation, and lower growth, it said.

Shares of state-run oil exploration company ONGC rose sharply on Monday in line with skyrocketing global crude oil prices. Ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine as well as lack of fresh supplies pushed crude oil price to a 14-year high of $130 per barrel on Monday. Global crude oil prices have risen over 40 per cent in the past one-month period.

Oil prices have soared to the highest level since 2008 after the US said it was discussing a potential embargo on Russian supplies with its allies, BBC reported. Brent crude -- the global oil benchmark -- spiked to above $139 a barrel, before easing back to below $130, BBC reported. Energy markets have been rocked in the recent days over supply fears triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

High commodity prices as well as outflow of foreign funds from equity markets dragged Indian rupee to a new record low against the US Dollar. Accordingly, rising prices of crude oil along with other commodities triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war had kept a weak pressure on the rupee.