Global oil prices: India watching situation very carefully, says Hardeep Singh Puri

With planetary lipid prices flaring owed to widening struggle successful the Middle East, India is watching the concern cautiously and is assured of navigating immoderate challenges it whitethorn pose, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said connected Monday.International lipid prices person flared to implicit USD 78 per tube from astir USD 70 per barrel, arsenic the marketplace waited to spot if Israel would retaliate against Iran for a rocket onslaught past week."We are watching the concern precise very carefully," Puri said astatine ExxonMobil Global Outlook 2024 here.Energy availability, helium said, tin beryllium affected if determination is an escalation successful the Middle East.

But supplies are not impacted and India, the world's 3rd largest lipid consuming and importing nation, is assured of being capable to navigate immoderate situation."I americium confident, we volition beryllium capable to navigate arsenic we did previously," helium said.Puri said determination is nary shortage of lipid and India is assured of sourcing its requirement.

After the Iranian rocket attack, it is being speculated that Israel whitethorn people lipid oregon atomic facilities successful Iran. And Tehran tin take to respond with either nonstop onslaught connected Israel oregon shutting the Strait of Hormuz - the world's astir important lipid transit point, further flaring lipid prices.

The Strait of Hormuz, located betwixt Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. A 5th of planetary lipid flows from the Strait. Oil from each large lipid producers - Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and UAE - is exported via the Strait.Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) person operating pipelines that tin circumvent the Strait of Hormuz.

Prior to the spike past twelvemonth - the astir since January 2023, determination were hopes of a chopped successful petrol and diesel prices. The terms of a handbasket of crude lipid India imports had averaged USD 73.69 per tube anterior to successful September, down from astir USD 83-84 a tube successful March erstwhile petrol and diesel prices were past chopped by Rs 2 per litre.

But the surge has present astir dashed specified hopes.Asked astir the anticipation of the reduction, Puri said petrol and diesel are deregulated commodities and lipid firms instrumentality pricing decisions.

"Keep your fingers and toes crossed," helium said.

"We volition show the concern cautiously arsenic we spell forward."

Before the surge of past week, standing bureau Icra had stated that determination was a headroom to chopped petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2-3 a litre.

This was based connected a diminution successful the terms of crude lipid -- which is converted into fuels similar petrol and diesel astatine refineries -- had rekindled hopes for a simplification successful petrol and diesel rates that person been connected a frost for implicit 2 years present barring a pre-election simplification successful March.

While petrol and diesel pricing is deregulated (meaning lipid companies person the state to hole retail rates), the state-owned substance retailers, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), person seldom utilized this state since precocious 2021 by not revising prices successful enactment with cost.

They stopped regular terms revision successful aboriginal November 2021, erstwhile rates crossed the state deed an all-time high, prompting the authorities to rotation backmost a portion of the excise work hike it had effected during the pandemic to instrumentality vantage of debased lipid prices.

The frost continued into 2022 but the war-led spike successful planetary lipid prices prompted a Rs 10 a litre hike successful petrol and diesel prices from mid-March 2022 earlier different circular of excise work chopped rolled backmost each of the Rs 13 a litre and Rs 16 a litre summation successful taxes connected petrol and diesel done during the pandemic.

That followed the existent terms frost which began connected April 6, 2022, and continued till March 15 reduction.

Thereafter determination has been a frost successful rates again.Petrol costs Rs 94.72 per litre successful the nationalist superior and diesel comes for Rs 87.62 a litre.