New Delhi, March 7 (IANS). Due to the increasing war between America, Israel and Iran, a sharp rise in the prices of crude oil was seen in the international market on Saturday. The price of Brent crude reached $ 91.84 per barrel, while the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $ 89.62 per barrel.
With this rise, the prices of Brent and WTI have increased by 24.55 percent and 32 percent respectively, due to which the fears of rising inflation at the global level have again intensified.
Brent crude futures have crossed the level of $ 90 per barrel for the first time since April 2024. At the same time, the price of WTI crude increased by almost 11 percent during the day to reach $ 89.62 per barrel.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said that Iran was being harmed ‘ahead of schedule and at a level never seen before’. He claimed that Iran now has ‘no air force and air defense left’ and its air force is almost destroyed.
On the other hand, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently said in a conversation with NBC News that his country does not intend to hold any kind of talks and is also ready for ground war.
According to experts, when the Russia-Ukraine war started in 2022, the price of Brent crude would reach $139 per barrel. Even in the current situation, if tension increases, further rise in prices may be seen.
However, it is a matter of relief for India that the country currently has adequate reserves of crude oil, petrol, diesel and LPG. According to the government, Indian oil companies are meeting the shortfall in supply by increasing imports from countries other than the Gulf region.
A senior government official said that India currently has adequate stock of energy resources and the country is in a comfortable position in terms of energy supply. He said India has more energy resources available than the supplies stuck in the Strait of Hormuz and imports from other regions will be increased if needed.
According to the official, India is buying crude oil from Russia from 2022. At that time imports from Russia were only 0.2 percent of total imports, but now it has increased significantly.
He said that in February, India bought about 20 percent of its total crude oil imports from Russia, which is about 10.4 lakh barrels per day (1.04 million barrels per day).
The government has directed refineries to maximize LPG production and give priority to domestic supplies, so that there is no shortage of cooking gas due to the Middle East crisis. Under this, it has been asked to use important gases like propane and butane on priority in LPG production.
–IANS
DBP/