LPG and oil crisis LIVE: Oil drops after U.S. issues license for countries to buy Russian oil for 30 days

The rupee slumped 12 paise to its file low of 92.37 against the U.S. greenback in early commerce on Friday (March 13, 2026) as global indecent oil costs confirmed no indicators of easing amid the ongoing West Asian conflict.

A stronger greenback, heavy FII promoting and dilapidated sentiments within the domestic equity markets extra weighed on the rupee, in step with international exchange traders.

The Kerala executive on Thursday scrambled to mitigate the wound precipitated by the shortage of cooking gasoline cylinders earmarked for commercial expend by streamlining provide. 

An urgent meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed suppliers to give higher priority to hospitals, frail-age houses, orphanages, faculties, neighborhood kitchens, hostels, IT parks and manufacturing facility canteens.

Indian households are speeding to aquire electric induction stoves, draining shares on-line and in stores, amid fears of a capacity cooking gasoline shortage tied to the Center East conflict.

India, the area’s ‌2nd-highest importer of liquefied petroleum gasoline (LPG), has invoked emergency powers to snatch presents for households even as availability tightens for commercial ⁠customers at the side of canteens, hostels and ingesting places.

Meanwhile, customers are hunting for electric cooking home equipment as a precaution, with some households nervous about top off delays and better costs.

The Maharashtra executive stated it has set up shield watch over rooms and district-diploma committees to make certain uninterrupted provide of LPG amid the West Asia disaster, sustaining that there isn’t very any shortage of the gasoline for domestic customers.

An decent release issued on Thursday (March 12, 2026) stated Anil Diggikar, Further Chief Secretary of the Food, Civil Offers and Client Security Department, has directed authorities to snatch important steps to shield tender provide and carefully track LPG distribution at some stage within the Issue.

The department stated there isn’t very any shortage of domestic LPG in Maharashtra and electorate needn’t horror, claiming that the provision of domestic cylinders in March is higher than the provision recorded at some stage within the final six months.

“To shield away from disruption in provide and make particular coordination in case of any shortage, district-diploma committees will be shaped below district collectors. These panels will encompass the superintendent of police, district provide officer and officials from executive oil corporations.

“Their responsibilities will encompass monitoring the LPG provide chain, sustaining rules and characterize and submitting on each day basis reviews on the topic,” the discharge stated.

In the Mumbai-Thane rationing topic, a separate committee will feature below the Controller of Rationing, it stated, with contributors at the side of the deputy commissioner of police and deputy controller (rationing).

The manager stated necessary services comparable to hospitals, executive hostels, executive school and school mess services, the mid-day meal draw and ashram faculties will be given priority provide of LPG cylinders. — PTI

Oil costs held around $100 on Friday (March 13, 2026) and most equity markets dropped after Iran’s chief called for the blocking of the necessary Strait of Hormuz and opening up of fresh fronts within the battle against the United States and Israel.

With the conflict heading towards its third week and displaying no indicators of ending, traders are rising an increasing selection of nervous about an prolonged disaster that would fan inflation and hammer the worldwide financial system.

The tea investors’ association in Guwahati, one in every of the area’s busiest public sale centres for the beverage, contain came at some stage in a glimmer of hope amid the gloom that gripped the commerce after the battle broke out in West Asia.

Home liquefied petroleum gasoline (LPG) potentialities experienced difficulties for the 2nd day consecutively, on Thursday, in inserting orders successfully for the refills.

Dismay booking by the households is the predominant motive, sources within the oil commerce attributed, at the side of that potentialities of all three public sector oil corporations, IOC, BPCL and HPCL, encountered challenges. The spike in bookings was some distance higher than the capability the plot can handle leading to frayed tempers, disappointment and shock for the households.

Authorities contain seized 38 domestic cooking gasoline cylinders at some stage in raids conducted over two days in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district within the Bundelkhand set bordering Uttar Pradesh, officials contain stated.

The raids came amid reviews of a shortage of cooking gasoline cylinders following the conflict in West Asia, which has disrupted global energy presents, they stated on Thursday (March 12, 2026).

Long queues were reported outside quite a lot of LPG companies within the tell. Then again, the Centre has asserted there isn’t very any shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene or LPG within the country.

The raids were conducted after the Chhatarpur district administration asked officials to snatch strict circulation against dim advertising and marketing and marketing, illegal storage and misuse of domestic LPG cylinders.

In the most widespread circulation on Thursday, a joint team from the income and meals departments seized 13 empty LPG cylinders from a water plant in Bilhari village of the Nowgong topic, stated the officials.

The cylinders were kept illegally and were being traded for commercial expend, they stated.

The raid was conducted below the management of Sub-Divisional Justice of the Peace G S Patel following instructions from in-payment district collector Namah Shivay Arjariya. — PTI

Russia’s financial envoy Kirill Dmitriev stated on Friday (March 13, 2026) that the worldwide energy market “can’t remain precise” without his country’s oil.

His feedback came after the United States stated it may perchance perchance probably maybe swiftly enable the sale of Russian oil that’s at sea, as energy costs soared after US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the oil-filthy rich Center East into battle.

“The United States is successfully acknowledging the glaring: without Russian oil, the worldwide energy market can’t remain precise,” Dmitriev posted on Telegram. — AFP

There may perchance be no shortage of gasoline provide for Piped Natural Gasoline (PNG) in Bengaluru and inns, ingesting places, and industries below the PNG community would proceed to assemble uninterrupted provide of the gasoline, assured a senior officer at GAIL Gasoline Ltd., a subsidiary of GAIL (India) right here on Thursday.

Speaking at an commerce interactive session on ‘Natural Gasoline Present Outlook and Swap Preparedness’ organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Swap & Commerce (BCIC), the decent stated, “The PNG provide in Bengaluru remains precise and fully below shield watch over. Industries, inns and commercial institutions which are connected to the PNG community needn’t be enthusiastic, as there isn’t very any disruption in provide and commerce operations will proceed uninterrupted.”

In the industrial town of Morbi in Gujarat, the air most steadily hums with the cry of gasoline-fired kilns producing thousands and thousands of square metres of ceramic tiles. On the present time, on the opposite hand, a quarter of these kilns are cold. Nearly a thousand kilometres away in Ludhiana, Punjab, the textile hubs that dress a third of India are facing an analogous paralysis. The motive is geopolitical.

Because the conflict between the U.S. and Iran intensifies, the Strait of Hormuz, the area’s most mandatory oil and gasoline artery, has grew to changed into into a gauntlet. India imports on the topic of half of its pure gasoline and at as soon as felt the pinch — rendered more painful by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gasoline, slashing gasoline allocations to non-priority industrial sectors to apt 65-80% of their contracted volumes.

High Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (March 12, 2026) hit out at these seeking to earn horror on the LPG topic in India, and stated they are usually no longer handiest exposing themselves earlier than the of us however also hurting the country.

Addressing a summit in Novel Delhi, Mr. Modi also stated that due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, no nation has remained unaffected, however India is fully committed to addressing this venture and is leaving no stone unturned to safeguard its energy security.

The West Bengal executive on Thursday chalked out the long-established working job (SOP) to shield watch over the provision and distribution of liquefied petroleum gasoline (LPG) amid reviews of gasoline shortage within the country attributable to the conflict in West Asia.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called for the framing of an SOP at an emergency meeting on Wednesday to declare about ways to mitigate the topic.

“This SOP is issued to files coordinated monitoring, stabilise presents, and facilitate immediate redressal of public grievances. It objectives to make certain continuity of necessary public services comparable to noon meals in faculties, Constructed-in Child Pattern Services, hospital diets, and necessary domestic consumption,” the SOP stated.

There may perchance be no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation turbine gasoline within the country, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday (March 12, 2026) while at the side of that India’s indecent provide has been secured amid the conflict in West Asia.

“Right here’s no longer the moment for hearsay-mongering or untrue narratives. India is navigating the most severe global energy disruption in recorded historical past,” Mr. Puri stated, at the side of, “Every citizen, no topic political affiliation, has a stake in that. India must stand united slack its energy warriors, slack the institutions managing this disaster, and slack the nationwide curiosity.”

Asian shares slumped on Friday (March 13, 2026), poised for a 2nd straight weekly decline as like a flash-dwindling hopes of a name to the U.S. and Israel’s battle with Iran kept oil costs aloft, casting ‌a shadow over global markets and spurring inflation fears.

The U.S. greenback has changed into the get dangle of-haven of replacement at some stage within the tumult, inserting most various currencies below stress. The greenback was set for a 2nd ⁠consecutive week of gains and is up 2% since the battle broke out at the discontinue of February.

Oil costs remained shut to the carefully watched $100 per barrel diploma, even supposing they eased a bit in early trading on Friday after U.S. issued a 30-day license ‌for countries to aquire Russian oil and petroleum merchandise at demonstrate stranded at sea.

Brent futures were final at $99.85 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate indecent was at $95.05 a barrel.

In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of ‌Asia-Pacific shares eased 0.5%, heading within the precise route for a 1.5% decline for the week. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.3%, while tech-heavy ‌South Korean ⁠shares slid on the topic of 2% and Taiwan equities fell 1%.

With Iran stepping up assaults at some stage within the Center ⁠East as its original Supreme Chief Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to shield the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane closed, traders are bracing for a protracted conflict and better oil costs. — Reuters

Amid rising oil costs, the Trump administration has announced a non permanent authorisation to various countries to aquire Russian oil at demonstrate stranded at sea, as there were no immediate indicators of an early discontinue to the U.S. battle on Iran.

The U.S. had granted an analogous waiver from sanctions to India to aquire Russian oil as half of efforts to chill down oil costs which were on the upward push since the outbreak of battle on February 28.

“@POTUS is taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to shield costs low as we cope with the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a post on X on Thursday (March 12, 2026). — PTI