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Business & Economy
India's crude oil basket
hits all-time high
What is India News Service,
Thursday, 3 March 2005, 1400 hrs IST
The Indian basket of crude oil has scaled an all-time high this week. The basket, consisting of Oman-Dubai grade of sour crude and Brent dated sweet crude in 57:42 ratio, touched its highest ever level at $46.23 a barrel on February 28.
It was just $43.88 per barrel even during October 2004, the worst month in oil history, when the WTI crude oil scaled an all-time high of $56.4 a barrel.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar today said the international oil prices were expected to ease with the winter demand subsiding.
Speaking on the sidelines of an oil conference today, Aiyar said, \93I hope that the new US administration's economic policy and the subsiding of winter demand will have a major impact on the international prices. In the longer term, the twin factors will stabilise prices at levels lower than last year's."
The February average of Indian basket of crude oil was $42.67 a barrel, slightly lower than the October 2004 average of $43.88 per barrel. It lowered to $38.82 per barrel in November and further to $36.82 a barrel in December. However, since January, when the Indian basket rose to $41.01 a barrel, the prices have been firming up.
\91Our constituency is much larger than the industry\92:
Finance Minister P Chidambaram is under attack from industry on two counts: the bank cash transaction tax and the fringe benefit tax
Benefits to large sections in tax-free Tamil Nadu budget:
A slew of measures intended to benefit a large section, ranging from noon-meal and construction workers to government servants and teachers, was announced in the Tamil Nadu budget proposals here today.
Chidambaram milks students to fund education: An existing cess to save education and a new tax to check black money will hit an unintended target quite hard. Students aspiring to pursue higher education will bear the
brunt.
Organisations seek review of Patent Act amendments:
The agencies claim that the amendment would hike prices of generic medicines for AIDS and that MNCs could get patents on seeds, plants and animal breeds.
Anomalies in fringe benefit tax will be removed:
Mr P. Chidambaram assured that the Government had no intention to levy the proposed Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) for any legitimate business expenses such as business
communication and knowledge enhancement.
'Rules on fringe benefit to leave little room for discretion':
The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said that the guidelines for the implementation of the proposed fringe benefit tax would be "practicable" so as to leave little room for discretion at the hands of the income-tax assessing officers.
OVL wins 300 mn barrels oilfield in Qatar:
ONGC Videsh Limited has won a 300 million barrels oilfield in Qatar, the 12th country the company has forayed into search for oil security for the country. This is the second success in a row that the company has had with the buying of the Egypt oilfields on Tuesday.
Will the steel cos make consumers pay more?:
The new budgetary changes in the steel sector are going to burden the steel industry that had just taken a new lease of life due to increase in demand. This industry which has turned around after nearly 5-6 years of heavy debt burden due to long gestation period is likely to be burdened by the increase in excise duty which has been hiked by 4 per cent. what needs to be seen is whether the steel industry will pass on the increase to its consumers who are in the construction, cars, home appliances etc.
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