NEW DELHI: Global oil prices spiked 4% on Friday as tensions flared up in the Middle East, setting off worries over an extended spell of market volatility hitting consumer sentiment by pushing up fuel prices and blunting the government’s efforts to revive the pace of economic growth. International benchmark Brent crude shot up 4% towards $70 per barrel before settling down at $68.76 as the market turned jittery over the possibility of Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global oil trade, to retaliate against the US killing one of its top military commanders.
As the world’s third-largest buyer of oil, India is vulnerable to tensions in the Middle East on two counts. One is of course the price factor and its impact on the country’s economy and consumer sentiment. The second is the possibility of supply disruption, in which case the country will have to spend more on supplies from alternative sources. But here too, things boil down to money matters.
