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Sudan's lawmakers approve 6-month state of emergency

Sudan's Parliament says lawmakers have approved a state of emergency across the county, but shortened an initial proposal to six months.

It says lawmakers on Monday discussed President Omar al-Bashir's February decision to declare a yearlong state of emergency. Parliament can extend the term after it expires.

Al-Bashir also disbanded the federal government and replaced all state governors with senior army officers. He banned unauthorized gatherings and gave security forces sweeping powers to quash the most serious protests yet against his three-decade rule.

The latest wave of protests began in December over price hikes, but later tuned to calls for him to resign. A heavy security crackdown has left scores of protesters dead.

Facing genocide charges, al-Bashir's rule has been marred by civil wars and demonstrations.

Source: Fox News World

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90K bottles of Russian vodka believed to be for Kim Jong Un seized by Dutch customs

Looks like Kim Jong Un will need to toast the success of his summit with Donald Trump with something other than vodka.

Dutch customs officers seized 3,000 cases of the Russian-made vodka Stolbovaya believed to be heading to North Korea for Kim Jong Un and his top generals on Friday, officials announced on Tuesday. The cargo of 90,000 bottles was discovered in a Chinese container ship, the Telegraph reported.

The shipment, which violates U.N. sanctions on North Korea, was reportedly hidden inside an aircraft fuselage.

Picture shows vodka bottles that were seized by the customs authorities in the port of Rotterdam, on February 26, 2019.

Picture shows vodka bottles that were seized by the customs authorities in the port of Rotterdam, on February 26, 2019. (Getty Images)

KIM JONG UN'S AIDE FRANTICALLY DASHES TO NORTH KOREAN LEADER'S SIDE AFTER ARRIVING IN VIETNAM FOR SECOND SUMMIT

Customs office spokesman Roul Velleman confirmed the seizure, but did not elaborate on why Dutch officials believe it was intended for the North Korean despot.

Dutch Overseas Trade Minister Sigrid Kaag congratulated the customs officials on the interception, saying: "The U.N. Security Council has imposed clear sanctions on North Korea and it is important to enforce them."

Timofei Urban, the head of alcohol manufacturer Niva that produces the confiscated alcohol, told the Moscow Times the company received the massive order but denied knowing it was headed for North Korea.

"I only heard about the North Korea news today from the Dutch papers," Urban said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, receives bouquets on his arrival at the Dong Dang railway station in Dong Dang, a Vietnamese border town Tuesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, receives bouquets on his arrival at the Dong Dang railway station in Dong Dang, a Vietnamese border town Tuesday. (AP)

NORTH KOREA AND KIM JONG UN: MEET THE KNOWN KEY PLAYERS IN THE REGIME

He added that the company produces “vodka to places all over the world, including South Korea,” but insisted “never to North Korea.”

News of the seized alcohol comes as Kim and President Trump are set to meet in Hanoi for their second summit in less than a year. The two leaders, who arrived in Vietnam just hours apart, are expected to discuss several topics, specifically North Korea’s commitment toward denuclearization.

But the Hermit Kingdom has been adamant about keeping its missiles and nuclear weapons until the U.S. lifts sanctions that have been crippling the North’s economy.

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Previous intercepted shipments that were headed to North Korea include Champagne, cheese and televisions, the Telegraph reported.

Source: Fox News World

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Trump's border wall prototypes to come down

Customs and Border Protection says President Trump's eight border-wall prototypes will be torn down to make way for a secondary barrier separating California from Mexico.

The agency says crews have replaced most of one layer of fencing along a 14-mile stretch of the border and have already started work on the secondary fence.

Border Patrol Agent Theron Francisco said Friday it isn't clear when the prototypes will come down. But he added money has been set aside for their removal.

Trump inspected the prototypes in March.

He declared an emergency last week to shift billions of dollars to fund border wall construction.

The House of Representatives is set to vote next week on whether to block the declaration.

Trump promises a veto if both Houses of Congress pass the measure.

Source: Fox News National

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Reports: Russian medical aid arrives in Venezuela

Russian news agencies say a shipment of Russian medicine and medical equipment has arrived in Venezuela.

The reports on state news agencies RIA-Novosti and Tass did not give the overall size of the shipment or the specifics of what it contained. RIA-Novosti cited a diplomatic source as saying the aid ship was made under the aegis of the World Health Organization.

Russia is an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is under challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido in a resurgence of the country's political crisis.

Guaido has been rallying international support for his challenge to Maduro and calling for international emergency aid.

Maduro is vowing to block aid from entering Venezuela, saying the effort is part of a U.S.-led coup attempt.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. oil prices hit three-month high amid OPEC-led output cuts

FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport
FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo

February 19, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – U.S. oil prices hit a three-month high on Tuesday, buoyed by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.95 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last settlement. Earlier in the session, they marked their strongest since Nov. 20 at $56.33 a barrel.

Prices had risen 2.2 percent on Friday, the last trading session due to a U.S. public holiday on Monday.

International Brent crude oil futures had yet to trade. They closed Monday up 0.4 percent, after touching their highest since Nov. 20 at $66.83 a barrel.

“OPEC and other major producers have done their part to stabilize prices by limiting output,” said Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst, OANDA.

“Disruptions in crude supply have also taken prices higher despite the United States ramping up production levels and softer global demand.”

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in Dec fell to 7.690 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.235 million bpd in Nov, official data showed on Monday.

U.S. energy companies last week increased the number of oil rigs looking for new supply by three to a total of 857, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a report on Friday.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Source: OANN

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Donald Trump, ‘Holmes & Watson’ win Razzie worst film awards

FILE PHOTO - Actor Will Ferrell at the premiere for 'Daddy's Home 2' in London
FILE PHOTO - Actor Will Ferrell at the premiere for 'Daddy's Home 2' in London, Britain, November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

February 23, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and a comedic movie take on Sherlock Holmes on Saturday topped the annual Razzie awards for the worst performances and films of 2018.

“Holmes & Watson,” starring Will Ferrell and John. C. Reilly, was the biggest “winner,” taking four trophies including worst film and “worst rip-off.” Reilly also was named worst supporting actor in what Razzie founder John Wilson called the “clueless parody” of the classic British detective tale.

The tongue-in-cheek Razzies, created in 1980, serve as an antidote to Hollywood’s Oscars. Winners were announced a day before Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony – the highest honors in the movie industry.

Trump won two worst actor Razzies for appearing as himself in the 2018 documentaries “Death of a Nation,” from conservative film maker Dinesh D’Souza, and liberal Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 11/9.”

White House aide Kellyanne Conway was voted worst supporting actress for her archival footage in “Fahrenheit 11/9.”

In an unusual twist, Melissa McCarthy was deemed worst actress, for her puppet comedy “The Happytime Murders,” as well as getting the Razzie Redeemer Award for her Oscar-nominated role in literary drama “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

“Gotti,” about late New York Mafia boss John Gotti, escaped with no “wins” despite getting six nominations, including worst picture, actor and “worst screen combo” for stars John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston.

Nominees and winners of the Razzies are voted for online by around 1,000 Razzie members from 24 countries, who sign up online and pay a $40 membership fee.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: OANN

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China February factory activity seen shrinking for third month: Reuters poll

FILE PHOTO: Employees work on a production line manufacturing light trucks at a JAC Motors plant in Weifang
FILE PHOTO: Employees work on a production line manufacturing light trucks at a JAC Motors plant in Weifang, Shandong province, China November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

February 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Factory activity in China is expected to have contracted for the third month in a row in February, a Reuters poll showed, adding to evidence of a further slowdown in the economy in the first quarter.

While record bank lending last month and signs of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks have lifted some of the gloom hanging over Asia’s economic giant, another weak manufacturing reading would suggest it is far from out of the woods yet.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is forecast at 49.5, unchanged from January’s near three-year low and still below the 50 level separating expansion from contraction on a monthly basis, according to the median forecast of 36 economists.

“The lagged impact of slower credit growth last year will continue to weigh on industrial activity until at least the middle of this year,” Capital Economics said in a note to clients this week.

“And exports are likely soften further, with cooling global demand offsetting any gains from a U.S.-China trade deal,” it added. Its forecast is below consensus at 49.0.

The PMI data will be released just days ahead of China’s annual meeting of parliament starting on March 5, where top officials are widely expected to announce more support measures such as sweeping tax cuts to reduce the strains on the economy.

Leaders will also reveal the government’s key economic and financial targets for the year which may give clues on their future policy stance.

Sources have told Reuters that Beijing is planning to lower its growth target to 6-6.5 percent this year from around 6.5 percent in 2018, reflecting softer domestic and export demand.

Actual growth in the world’s second-largest economy cooled to 6.6 percent last year – the slowest in 28 years – from 6.8 percent in 2017.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect that pace to slow further this year to around 6.3 percent, with most predicting there will be some signs of stabilization by mid-year after a rocky first half.

The latest PMI reading will come with the usual caveat that Chinese data early in the year may be skewed by the timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, which began on Feb. 4.

Businesses typically rush out shipments and then scale back operations or close for long periods around the holidays. But Reuters reporters who visited the export-reliant southern province of Guangdong recently were told some factories had likely shut their gates for good.

A private survey – the Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ index (PMI) – which focuses more on small and medium-sized Chinese firms – is again expected to show a somewhat sharper contraction than the official gauge.

The Caixin PMI is forecast to edge up to 48.5 from January’s 48.3, but also remain around contractionary levels not seen since early 2016.

Companies in the private survey are believed to be more export-oriented. Even if Washington and Beijing reach a comprehensive trade agreement soon dismantling tariffs, those firms will have to win back market share.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he may soon sign a deal to end the trade war with Chinese President Xi Jinping if their countries can bridge remaining differences, saying negotiators were “very, very close” to a deal.

But Trump also sounded a note of caution, saying a deal “could happen fairly soon, or it might not happen at all.”

The official PMI survey is due out ‪on Feb. 28, along with a sister survey on services. The Caixin manufacturing PMI will come out ‪on March 1 and its services PMI ‪on March 5.

(Writing by Kim Coghill; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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