ET NEWS

The prices of LPG cylinders have been revised upward with effect from April 1, with commercial and smaller cylinders witnessing a significant increase across key cities.In Delhi, the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder has been increased to Rs 2,078.50, marking a rise of Rs 195.50. Meanwhile, the 5 kg FTL cylinder is now priced at Rs 549 per refill, reflecting an increase of Rs 51, sources said.You may follow our coverage of the West Asia war hereIn Kolkata, the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder has gone up by Rs 218, indicating a broader trend of rising fuel costs across urban centres.Meanwhile, domestic cooking gas LPG rates, which were last hiked by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder on March 7, remain unchanged. It costs Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.The latest revision comes against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia, involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global transit route for crude oil and energy supplies.Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices have also been revised upward in major metro cities from April 1, 2026. In Delhi, ATF is now priced at Rs 2,07,341.22 per kilolitre, while in Kolkata it stands at Rs 2,05,953.33 per kilolitre. Mumbai has recorded ATF prices at Rs 1,94,968.67 per kilolitre, and Chennai at Rs 2,14,597.66 per kilolitre. The increase is in line with rising global crude oil prices, which are impacting airline operations and overall air travel costs.ATF prices for domestic airlines operating international routes have also seen a sharp increase. These stood at Rs 816 per kilolitre earlier but have now surged to Rs 1,690 per kilolitre following the April 1 revision, more than doubling in response to global price trends.The sharp rise in ATF rates aligns with the broader surge in jet fuel prices globally, driven by geopolitical uncertainties in West Asia, higher crude oil prices and widening refining crack spreads.LPG Crisis: QSRs shut outlets, fine-dine chains halt plansEarlier, the Central government reduced excise duty on petrol to Rs 3 per litre and brought it down to zero for diesel, as per a Gazette notification issued under the provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944. Additionally, a windfall tax of Rs 21.5 per litre has been imposed on diesel exports.Meanwhile, the government has maintained that fuel supplies across the country remain stable. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in an official statement, assured that "all retail outlets are operating normally across the country" and that there are "adequate stocks of petrol and diesel available at all petrol pumps." It also urged citizens not to engage in panic buying amid circulating rumours.Officials further stated that refineries are operating at high capacity with sufficient crude inventories and that domestic LPG production has been ramped up to meet demand.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said that Israel's campaign against Iran's regime "not over", claiming that the joint operations with the US have "shaken" the regime. Starting February 28, the US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran, which retaliated, spreading the war to the entire Gulf region. "A month into our joint campaign with the US, we are crushing the regime of terror that screamed 'Death to America, Death to Israel'," Netanyahu said.You may follow our coverage of the West Asia war here Adding that the "campaign is not over", he said, "We have shaken the regime; sooner or later it will fall." He said that Israel is building new regional alliances. "I hope that soon I will be able to share more about the new alliances with important countries in the region." Criticising the Iranian regime, he said, "The ayatollahs' regime has spent nearly a trillion dollars over the years on the immense effort to wipe us out. That trillion went down the drain."

Mumbai: The rupee was the worst performer in Asia against the US dollar in FY26, shows an ET analysis of 10 rival currencies, after the local unit lost 9.88% through a year marked by record exits from Indian equities by overseas investors amid a global scramble for dollar-based assets. Opening the financial year at 85.59 per dollar, the rupee ended at 94.83. 129938838 Yen Second Worst-performing This is after the local currency touched a record low of 95.22/$ amid consistent dollar demand throughout the year. Foreign portfolio investors pulled out a record ₹1.6 lakh crore, far exceeding withdrawals in FY22, data from NSDL data showed. Unrelenting demand for dollars from foreign investors forced the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to intervene in the market by selling dollars to prevent a sharp fall in the rupee. The Japanese yen, which fell 6.27% against the dollar, was the second worst-performing Asian currency in FY26. By contrast, the Malaysian ringgit gained 9.69% - the best performer on the regional leader-board. Alok Singh, head of treasury, CSB Bank, expects the rupee to remain under pressure in the half of FY27 before the unit recovers some of its losses and trades in the broad 91-94 per dollar band for the fiscal year. Bankers said the latest RBI measures would support the rupee. "Capping of banks' net open position by RBI will help curb speculative trades and prevent a sharp depreciation in the rupee, but the near-term outlook is weak and a little fuzzy due to the Iran conflict, as the dollar-rupee rate will correlate with what happens there," said Alok Singh. In a drastic measure to prevent a sharper fall in the rupee, RBI on March 27 asked banks to cap their net open rupee positions in the onshore deliverable market to $100 million at the end of each business day, effective April 10, far lower than the 25% of total capital limit earlier. Despite this, the rupee fell to cross the 95 mark on the last day of trading. "For now, chances are that the rupee may weaken below 95 per dollar toward 96 or even 97. Persistent dollar outflows and higher oil prices have definitely shifted the rupee band more toward 92-93 per dollar, from the 89-90 expected before this crisis," Singh said. Through FY26, RBI maintained that it intervened in the spot market to prevent volatility.

Mumbai: Foreign institutional investors (FII) withdrew more than ₹1.6 lakh crore from Indian equities in FY26 - the highest in a financial year - although a record ₹8.5 lakh crore of fresh commitments from domestic funds formed the ideal rearguard against the potentially debilitating FII exits through the worst rupee rout in 14 years. For overseas buyers, Indian risk assets in FY26 appeared to have been caught in the perfect storm due to the Iran conflict, a lingering uncertainty on tariffs, relatively expensive valuations, an AI-led decline in the business prospects of a $280-billion technology industry, and about 10% rupee slide against the dollar. FY26 marks the second consecutive financial year of FII outflows and fourth in the previous five years, data from ETIG showed. Last year, FIIs withdrew ₹1.24 lakh crore from stocks and were on track to pull out a similar amount this fiscal year too. But their pace of exit accelerated in March after the start of the Iran war, with the rupee losing 4% in as many weeks. "Since March, the West Asia war raised risk-off sentiment that amplified the sell-off substantially," said Rupen Rajguru, head, equity investment and strategy, Julius Baer India. 129938805 Domestic Appetite "The weak currency is a big factor that eats into the returns of foreign investors and keeps foreign capital at bay this year," said Rajguru. Flows from domestic institutions - led by mutual funds, pension funds and insurers - into the stock market have been on an uptrend in the past five years. Their FY26 investments of ₹8.49 lakh crore exceeded total flows into equities in the previous two financial years, underscoring the domestic appetite for stocks despite the market sell-off. Nifty and Sensex fell 5.1% and 7.1%, respectively, in the fiscal year. Both indices would have ended marginally higher or with modest losses but for the near 9.5% retreat in March - the worst monthly fall since 2020, the onset of the pandemic. "Typically, one year of losses triggers domestic outflows, but this time, SIP (systematic investment plan) flows have remained largely steady despite 18 months of losses," said Rajguru. Retail investors have pumped ₹29,000 crore every month on average into domestic equity schemes in the past financial year. The return of foreign portfolio flows into India in the new financial year would depend on stability in the rupee, peace in West Asia and a decline in crude prices though a rush of overseas investments seem unlikely. "Given the uncertainties arising out of the war on energy disruption and global reversal of interest rate cycle, the FPI flows are not expected to be positive immediately in the near future," said Rajesh Iyer, managing director, global investment solutions and asset management, at LGT Wealth India. Foreign institutional ownership of Indian companies is at a decadal low, and valuations are around 17 times the estimated price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, below the ten-year average, said Rajguru of Julius Baer India. "A lot of the damage is already done," he said.