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Portugal antitrust body says top retail chains fixed drinks prices

FILE PHOTO: Consumers wait to buy meat products at a Pingo Doce supermarket in Lisbon
FILE PHOTO: Consumers wait to buy meat products at a Pingo Doce supermarket in Lisbon, Portugal July 6, 2018. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

March 22, 2019

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s competition authority on Friday accused six big supermarket chains of illegally fixing prices for some drinks in collusion with three beverage suppliers between 2003 and 2017.

It said it found that Modelo Continente, owned by Portugal’s retailer Sonae, Pingo Doce, run by Jeronimo Martins, and France’s Auchan and Intermarche aligned prices for beer and beverages distributed by Heineken-owned Central de Cervejas e Bebidas and by the local Super Bock Group.

The four supermarket chains, as well as the local units of Germany’s Lidl and France’s E.Leclerc, also used the same scheme with the Portuguese wine and liquor distributor Prime Drinks, the authority said.

“If confirmed, that conduct is very serious,” the competition authority said in a statement late on Friday, adding that the case was one of the first “hub-and-spoke” schemes to be investigated in Portugal.

“This practice is equivalent to a cartel where distributors, without communicating between themselves, resort to bilateral contracts with suppliers to promote and guarantee that all practice the same public price in the retail market.”

Central de Cervejas e Bebidas denied any wrongdoing and said in a statement that it would cooperate with the authority to prove that it had acted in line with anti-trust rules.

Pingo Doce also denied wrongdoing and said it was surprised by the accusations because half of its revenues come from promotional campaigns, in which prices are often discounted.

Nobody was available for comment at the other companies.

The competition authority said it would not pre-judge the final outcome of the investigation, and that the companies will have an opportunity to defend themselves. It did not say what sanctions they could face.

(Reporting By Andrei Khalip; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: OANN

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Decorated transgender troops to testify before Congress

Lindsey Muller served in the Army as a man for nearly a decade before telling her commanders in 2014 that she identified as a woman and would resign because military policy barred transgender personnel. Her superiors, citing her outstanding performance, urged the decorated attack helicopter pilot to stay so she did.

After then-President Barack Obama changed the policy, she started dressing in uniform as a woman. Muller went on to be recommended for a promotion as the surgery to complete her gender transition was scheduled, but the operation was postponed in 2017 when President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he was reinstituting the ban.

With the ban now blocked by lawsuits, transgender troops Wednesday will testify for the first time before Congress.

In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have served without incident. Some, like Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition.

They say they stand as proof against President Donald Trump's argument that their presence is a burden.

"Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... it's really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs," said Muller, who will not be testifying but is a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits challenging the ban. "We've been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration."

The hearing will be held by the subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee chaired by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier. Speier introduced bipartisan legislation in February that would prohibit the Department of Defense from denying the enlistment or continued service of transgender people if Trump's ban takes effect.

Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate. It's unclear whether the legislation would be voted on as a stand-alone bill or be folded into the defense bill, which could be harder for Trump to veto.

Among those set to testify will be five transgender troops and Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, a Navy Reserve commander who pushed the military to include transgender people.

Also testifying will be Pentagon officials including Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, the director of the Defense Health Agency, and James Stewart, acting under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

They are expected to be questioned about whether transgender troops have affected the military's warfighting abilities and whether any medical evidence supports excluding them.

The American Medical Association has stated there is none.

Muller, a 19-year combat veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq, diligently followed the Pentagon guidelines to transition. She was grounded because she was on hormone replacement therapy, though non-transgender people on hormone replacement therapy routinely receive waivers to keep flying.

Since then, Muller has been an aviation safety officer in South Korea, overseeing 1,100 troops.

Shortly after serving in the new job, she was hand-picked to advise commanders on managing international incidents near the demilitarized zone. Her commander recommended her for a promotion, calling her the best battalion officer in the brigade.

At the time, Muller was scheduling surgery, the final step to complete her transition, when Trump announced on Twitter in 2017 "that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," and it "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail."

She has since gotten the surgery and continues to serve.

While the Supreme Court in January lifted national injunctions by two courts, two other injunctions by courts in Washington and Maryland remain in place.

Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion, though Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said commanders have had issues with medical leave.

An estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender.

The Defense Department spent $2.2 million on gender transition-related care in 2017 out of its more than $50 billion annual military health care budget, which covers family members and dependents.

From June 2016 to November 2017, 34 non-genital sex reassignment surgeries and one genital surgery were completed, according to a 2018 Pentagon report.

The administration's expected policy would allow transgender people to serve if they remain in their biological sex. It would grandfather in current service members, though the government has also said it retains the right to eliminate that protection.

Transgender troops say the ban mirrors the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibited gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces before Congress repealed it in 2010.

Army Lieutenant Gen. Tom Spoehr, who retired in 2016 when transgender troops started serving openly, witnessed no problems. But he agrees with Trump's policy because of suicide rates among people with gender dysphoria, a condition of extreme distress from not identifying with one's biological gender.

"There are great examples of people serving who are transgender and made it work," said Spoehr, director of The Heritage Foundation's Center for National Defense. "But the military has to work with the preponderance that the data and evidence say people with gender dysphoria are at much greater risk of harming themselves and not being at their best."

U.S. Army Maj. Ian Brown, 38, disagrees that transgender troops have more problems than the general military population.

"At the end of the day, as a trans soldier, I'm going to do my job to the best of my ability, and that's to fight for everyone's freedoms," said the two-time Bronze Star recipient who transitioned from female to male while advising the Army's deputy chief of staff in operations and planning. "That's not going to change."

Master Sgt. Erika Stoltz, 56, served four combat deployments and earned two Bronze Stars. After returning from Afghanistan, she transitioned from male to female while working full-time for the Army.

During her first post-transition deployment, she received a humanitarian award for her hurricane relief work in the Caribbean.

"There have been people who have blatantly run into the face of certain death to save another soldier," she said. "They're not worried about what gender they are, they're just trying to save their buddy."

_____

McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

Source: Fox News National

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Greece backs Bolivian leader's call for Venezuela dialogue

Greece's left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is backing calls by Bolivia for a negotiated settlement to the severe political and financial crisis in Venezuela.

Many European Union member countries are among 50 nations, including the United States, which are backing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido against embattled President Nicolas Maduro. Those EU countries want a presidential election to resolve Venezuela's problems.

But Tsipras' Syriza party has friendly ties with left-wing parties in South America and has expressed support for Maduro.

Bolivian President Evo Morales wants Tsipras to press the EU to push for talks between the Venezuelan government and opposition as a way out of the crisis.

Morales met with Tsipras in Athens on Friday during a rare trip to Europe.

Source: Fox News World

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Volkswagen’s Skoda Auto February deliveries down 2 percent due to China

FILE PHOTO: Skoda cars prepared for customers are seen at a factory parking space in Mlada Boleslav
FILE PHOTO: Skoda cars prepared for customers are seen at a factory parking space in Mlada Boleslav, April 13, 2012. REUTERS/Petr Josek

March 14, 2019

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s Czech unit Skoda Auto saw global deliveries drop 2 percent to 90,900 cars year-on-year in February, mainly due to depressed Chinese market, the carmaker said on Wednesday.

Deliveries in China fell by 18.4 percent to 16,000 cars, while rising in western and eastern Europe.

(Reporting by Robert Muller)

Source: OANN

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Series of weak earthquakes hit south Alabama

A series of small earthquakes hit south Alabama within hours of each other near the Florida line.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded about 8 miles (13 kilometers) northwest of Flomaton around 11 p.m. Thursday. There are no damage reports.

The Geological Survey says stronger earthquake with a magnitude of 2.8 hit nearby Thursday afternoon, and a magnitude 2.5 quake occurred a few hours earlier.

The cluster is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Pensacola, Florida.

Several other earthquakes have been detected in the same area in recent weeks.

Government researchers are trying to determine whether the quakes are related to oil and gas operations in the area. The U.S. Geological Survey is working with its partners to deploy seismometers around the area.

Source: Fox News National

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Fed Bureaucrats’ War Against Cowboys, Indians & Their Families

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Source: InfoWars

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House panel probes Anthem, UnitedHealth over short-term health plans

FILE PHOTO: The office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, California
FILE PHOTO: The office building of health insurer Anthem is seen in Los Angeles, California February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas

March 13, 2019

(Reuters) – The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday launched an investigation into 12 health insurers, including Anthem Inc and UnitedHealth Group, over their sale of short-term plans.

Terming the short-term plans as “junk”, the committee said it was troubled that consumers who sign up for the plans are being misled about the nature of the coverage they are purchasing.

“The Democrats cite concerns over several troubling reports of STLDI (short-term, limited duration insurance) plans denying coverage entirely, charging more based on age, gender or health state, or refusing to cover consumers for care that may stem from what the company deems a pre-existing condition,” the panel said.

Shares of Health Insurance Innovations Inc fell nearly 20 percent, while eHealth Inc dropped 4.8 pct. Shares of Anthem and UnitedHealth Group pared gains, but were still up between 2 and 3 percent.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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