By Admin 
Nirmala Sitharaman On Inflation: After the attacks by America and Israel on Iran, there has been a huge jump in the prices of crude oil. For the first time in four years, crude oil has crossed $100 and is now around $114 per barrel. At the same time, the news of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, the main route for oil supply from Gulf countries, has further increased the concerns of the global energy market. In such a situation, it is feared that if this tension in the Middle East continues for a long time, then the situation may become serious for the economies around the world. This challenge is even bigger for countries like India, because the country meets about 90 percent of its energy needs through imports.
How big a crisis?
However, regarding this crisis arising in West Asia, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says that the impact of increase in crude oil prices may be limited on inflation in the country. In a written reply given in Parliament, he said that at present the prices of commodities in the country are relatively stable, hence the increase in crude oil prices is not likely to have much impact on inflation. It is noteworthy that in early trading on Monday, a jump of about 26 percent was seen in oil prices. This rise has come at a time when Iran has declared Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A week ago, Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in joint air strikes by America and Israel. After this, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, due to which many big oil exporting countries of the Gulf region have announced reduction in their shipments due to security reasons.
How much impact on India?
Mojtaba Khamenei has been made the new Supreme Leader of Iran at a time when US President Donald Trump has refused to recognize his appointment. At the same time, Israel has also warned that whatever new leadership Iran will have, it will be its target.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said that before the increase in tensions in the Middle East on February 28, there was a downward trend in the prices of Indian crude basket during the last one year. According to him, at the end of February, the price of Indian crude basket had increased to $ 69.01 per barrel, which increased to $ 80.16 per barrel on March 2. However, he believes that despite this increase in crude oil prices, its impact on Indian consumers will be relatively minor.
Also read: This shocking report came for India amidst Iran-US war at a dangerous juncture and Trump’s threat.