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Telecoms group Orange strikes cautious tone as French price war lingers on

FILE PHOTO - The logo of French telecom operator Orange is seen on the facade of the Velodrome stadium in Marseille
FILE PHOTO - The logo of French telecom operator Orange is seen on the facade of the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier/File Photo

February 21, 2019

By Mathieu Rosemain and Gwénaëlle Barzic

PARIS (Reuters) – Orange, France’s number one telecoms operator, struck a cautious tone for 2019 due to a protracted price war in its home country and few chances that a merger between its rivals might improve market conditions.

Orange expected core operating profit to grow at a slower pace in 2019 than 2018, despite a good performance in its home country and in its second-biggest market, which is Spain.

That guidance may further fuel scepticism shown by investors over the past few months about Europe’s telecoms sector, which has underperformed compared to major benchmark indices.

“Today’s competitive environment has intensified and shows no sign of waning, so it inevitably has an impact on our capacity to generate growth,” Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez said in a call with reporters, referring to France.

Orange and its French rivals Iliad, Bouygues Telecom and Altice Europe’s SFR are engaged in a commercial race to win customers for their fixed and mobile businesses, while also having to spend at the same time billions of euros on upgrading their networks.

HEAVY DISCOUNTS

Iliad was first to trigger the price war in 2012 when it offered its low-cost mobile services, with direct consequences on its competitors’ margins. But heavy discounts are now also seen in the broadband business.

The prospect of further spending needed to buy radio frequencies for the deployment of the fifth-generation of mobile technology, or 5G, is also weighing on investors’ sentiment towards telecoms stocks.

Several attempts to cut the number of French telecom operators from four to three, with expected positive impact on prices, have failed, and Fernandez is not expecting such a deal to happen any time soon.

“It would be a big surprise if it happened right now,” he said.

In that context, Orange managed anyhow to post a better-than-expected quarterly operating profit, mainly driven by higher revenues in France and Spain and cost cuts.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 1.4 percent on a comparable basis to 3.33 billion euros ($3.77 billion) for the period, above market expectations for growth of 0.6 percent.

Orange’s boss, Stephane Richard, said he will present a new strategic plan this year, dubbed “Vision 2025”.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by GV De Clercq/Sudip Kar-Gupta)

Source: OANN

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Mick Mulvaney defends Trump after New Zealand massacre, says president 'not a white supremacist'

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that President Trump was not a white supremacist and it was unfair to characterize the New Zealand gunman who slaughtered 50 people in a terrorist attack at two mosques as a supporter of Trump.

Mulvaney comments came during a discussion on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace about the New Zealand rampage and the killer’s rambling 74-page manifesto in which he describes himself as a supporter of Trump “as a symbol of renewed identity and common purpose.”

“I'm a little disappointed, you didn't put up the next sentence because I looked at it last night, was what about his policies and he's a leader, and he said, ‘dear god no,’” Mulvaney said.

A TRUMP SPEECH CONDEMNING ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY WOULD BE 'WELCOME GESTURE': JOSH KRAUSHAAR

“I don't think it's fair to cast this person as a supporter of Donald Trump any more than it is to look at his -- sort of his eco-terrorist passages in that manifesto that align him with (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi or Ms. (Alexandria) Ocasio-Cortez,” he added, referring to the New York congresswoman.

Mulvaney called the gunman responsible for Friday’s Christchurch mosque shootings as a “disturbed individual, an evil person.”

WORLD LEADERS INCLUDING TRUMP ANGERED BY NEW ZEALAND VIOLENCE

Mulvaney also was asked if Trump has considered delivering a speech condemning white supremacy and anti-Muslim bigotry given that they were issues in the U.S.

“You've seen the president stand up for religious liberty, individual liberty,” Mulvaney said. “The president is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how many times we have to say that. And, to simply ask the question, every time something like this happens overseas, or even domestically, to say, oh, my goodness, it must somehow be the president's fault speaks to a politicization of everything that I think is undermining sort of the institutions that we have in the country today."

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Mulvaney added, “Let's take what happened in New Zealand yesterday for what it is. A terrible evil, tragic act and figure out why those things are becoming more prevalent in the world. Is it Donald Trump? Absolutely not.”

After being pressed on the matter, Mulvaney replied: "You may say you want to give him a national speech to address the nation, that's fine. Maybe we do that, maybe we don't but I think you could jump to the basic issue, the president is doing everything that we can to prevent this type of thing from happening here. The president is doing everything that we can to make it clear, look, this has to stop."

Fox News' Chris Wallace contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Woman arrested at Mar-A-Lago had cash, signal detector in hotel room, prosecutors say

A woman arrested at President Trump's Mar-A-Lago club last month had $8,000 in U.S. and Chinese currency in her hotel room as well as a signal detector meant to spot hidden cameras, a federal prosecutor in Florida said Monday.

Yujing Zhang, 32, was ordered held until her bond hearing resumes April 15 in West Palm Beach federal court. Zhang was arrested on March 30 and was charged with unlawfully entering a restricted area and making false statements to federal law enforcement.

Prosecutor Rolando Garcia told U.S. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman that the government was not making allegations of spying against Zhang at this time, but noted there are "a lot of questions that remain to be answered."

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN ON HEELS OF NIELSEN RESIGNATION

Garcia told the judge that Zhang approached a checkpoint at the club and told a Secret Service agent that she wanted to use the pool, but was not wearing a bathing suit. She was carrying two Chinese passports, which she showed as identification.

Officials said Zhang made it past the checkpoint "due to a potential language barrier issue" after a club manager thought she was the daughter of a member with the same surname.

Once inside, Zhang allegedly told a front-desk clerk she was there for a nonexistent United Nations Chinese American Association event. After Secret Service agents were summoned, Zhang allegedly contradicted her earlier story by saying she had come early to the event to familiarize herself with the club and take photos. She showed the responding agent a Chinese-language invitation that he said he could not read.

The agent, Samuel Ivanovich, said Zhang was removed from the property and told she could not be there. She was arrested after Secret Service agents found her carrying four cellphones, an external hard drive and a thumb drive with computer malware installed.

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In addition to the cash, Garcia told Judge Matthewman that agents found a cell phone, several credit cards, nine USB drives and five USB cards in her room. The prosecutor added that the currency contradicted Zhang's claim to police that she had only $5,000 in a Wells Fargo bank account.

President Trump was staying at Mar-a-Lago on the weekend of Zhang's arrest but was not on the property at the time.

Fox News' Ivonne Amor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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China infrastructure investment under pressure, state planner says

FILE PHOTO: Man walks near a shantytown to be redeveloped, in front of apartment buildings, in Fu county in the south of Yanan
FILE PHOTO: A man walks near a shantytown to be redeveloped, in front of apartment buildings, in Fu county in the south of Yanan, Shaanxi province, China January 2, 2019. REUTERS/Yawen Chen

February 26, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – Infrastructure investment plans are under pressure in China as the confidence of investors in them has dipped, the state planner said on Tuesday, adding that some provinces have seen a sharp drop in planned projects.

In China, infrastructure projects are usually carried out by local and other state-controlled bodies.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a report that manufacturing investment may also face some downward pressure in the first half of 2019, as company profits have been squeezed since late last year on sluggish demand and weak prices.

Property investment in the first quarter will maintain relatively rapid growth as some projects have been under construction since 2018, but new construction starts may suffer a decline, the NDRC said.

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Yawen Chen; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Source: OANN

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Wisconsin school ends cheerleading awards for body parts

A Wisconsin school district official says its high school will no longer hand out cheerleading awards that are based on a girl's physical attributes, including largest breasts or buttocks.

The American Civil Liberties Union says an annual banquet has been held at Tremper High School in the Kenosha Unified School District that recognizes the most improved or hardest working cheerleaders. But the ACLU says special gag awards are also given to a cheerleader with the largest buttocks, called "Big Booty Judy" and the biggest breasts, called "Big Boobie Strube."

The ACLU says it obtained correspondence from Tremper Principal Steve Knecht telling a parent that the gag awards were meant to be funny. District spokeswoman Tanya Ruder says these awards won't be made at future cheerleading banquets.

Source: Fox News National

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Wednesday's Powerball drawing could see $750 million winner

Lottery players will get another chance to become a multi-millionaire and live the high life.

After months without a winner, the Powerball jackpot has spiraled upwards to a massive $750 million.

Wednesday night’s drawing gives those who buy a $2 ticket a chance at the fourth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

The big prize has grown steadily since the last jackpot winner on Dec. 26; the odds of matching the five white balls and single Powerball are a staggering one in 292.2 million.

LAWYER FOR 1.5 BILLION DOLLAR LOTTERY WINNER STEPS FORWARD

The $750 million estimate refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt for the cash prize, which for Wednesday's drawing would be an estimated $465.5 million.

Earlier this month one lucky South Carolinian, who opted to stay anonymous, claimed a Mega Millions jackpot and settled for a $878 million lump sum.

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The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 pm ET. If you're intent on playing, the last chance to buy a ticket is about an hour before the drawing.

Powerball is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., the U.S Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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New migrant caravan sets out in Honduras

Several hundred Honduran migrants have set out in a caravan for that country's border with Guatemala, hoping to reach the United States.

The families, including many young children, gathered at the San Pedro Sula bus station. Parents say they can't support their families with what they can earn in Honduras and are seeking better opportunities.

Most boarded buses before dawn Wednesday that would carry them to towns on the Guatemalan border. Others walked through the rain, some pushing strollers while others carried sleeping children in their arms.

Nohemy Reyes waited at the bus station with one of her five children sleeping on floor beside her. She says her country's economic straits are driving her north.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border.

Source: Fox News World

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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