Petrol and diesel prices on April 17: State-owned petrol and diesel prices remain almost unchanged in the Indian domestic market on Thursday, April 17. However, jet fuel and commercial gas prices continue to reflect earlier volatility caused by disruptions to the energy supply chain due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Anxiety among investors over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and global fuel shortages have spilled over into fuel prices and have been seen in oil prices around the world since the Middle East conflict began on February 28. As of 10:00 a.m., retail fuel prices in major cities in India remained steady as the government stepped in to control inflation.
The Indian currency posted gains against other Asian peers after a report by the Reserve Bank of India urged state oil refiners to channel their dollar purchases through a special credit facility. The rupee gained as much as 0.5% to 92.7738 per dollar on Friday.
“News that the RBI has asked state-owned refiners to buy dollars using a special window instead of the market led to a lower dollar/rupee open,” Bloomberg quoted RBL Bank Ltd treasury chief Anshul Chandak as saying. He added that “optimism about extending the US-Iran talks is also encouraging.
According to a Reuters report, the central bank has asked refiners to use a special credit line for their foreign exchange requirements through the country’s largest lender State Bank of India. The RBI ordered lenders to limit their open onshore positions to $100 million, while banning them from offering non-delivery forward contracts to clients.
With Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp among the biggest buyers of dollars in the currency market to pay for crude imports, the RBI has been encouraging refiners to route dollar purchases through SBI instead of several banks.
The rupee hit consecutive lows against the dollar after the Iran war broke out, but recovered some losses after the central bank took measures to curb currency market speculation.
Today’s price of Brent oil and gold
Brent crude was trading at $98.12 on Friday morning, down $1.27 (-1.28 percent). Similarly, crude oil fell to $93.41, down $1.28 (-1.35 percent), signaling a bearish trend for the session. Meanwhile, gold continued its bullish run to trade at $4,795.95, up $7.43 (0.16 percent).
Indian equity benchmarks reflected cautious investor sentiment amid mixed global cues as they opened in the red zone on Friday. The NSE NIFTY 50 opened at 24,162.20 points at 9:17 am, down 34.55 points or 0.14 percent, while the BSE SENSEX was down 34.55 points or 0.14 percent at 77,947.66 points.
