New Delhi: Crude prices menacingly crossed the $100/barrel mark on Friday morning and dragged investor sentiments to the dumps and Asian major stock market indices into the red. The intensifying West Asia crisis and crude oil’s continuous northward march revived apprehensions of a fresh round of inflation.
Reuters reported that Brent crude was at $100.85 a barrel this morning and surged 7% to reach a two-month high of $102. It was a result of the expanding sphere of conflict in West Asia as Houthis attacked on Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea, revising fresh choke points on energy delivery.
Asian markets this morning
At 7:45 AM, all major Asian stock market indices were in the red. GIFT NIFTY was down 0.73%, the crucial Japanese index Nikkei 225 down a massive 2.97%, Straits Times down 0.59%, Hang Seng down 1.12%, Taiwan Weighted down 1.19%, KOSPI down 3.98%, Jakarta Composite down 1.05 and Shanghai Composite down 0.76.
The indication is getting stronger that Sensex 30 and Nifty 50 could head for a gap down opening today.
“Two of the world’s busiest shipping corridors are under threat in the same month, and markets are only just beginning to work out what that means,” Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a financial advisory firm, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
45% jump in 23 days
According to data from PPAC, an arm of the petroleum ministry, the Indian crude oil basket price is also rising. On July 22, it stood at $93.19 a barrel. The extent of rise of crude oil prices in the world markets can be gauged from the fact that on July 1 Brent crude oil spot prices dropped below $70 a barrel. This indicated a jump of more than 45% in 23 days.
The average price of crude oil which the Indian refiners paid for a barrel in the past four months are as follows — $114.48 in April, $106.23 in May, $83.22 in June and $77.58 in July so far. But the spike in global prices will surely raise the average price in July.
