"crude-oil"

This will clear the canal and allow movement on the busiest waterway in the world. Crude prices fell after rising 4 per cent over the last few days as the blockage was causing $ 9 billion of trade loss every day.

This meant that the central government continued to levy excise duty, while state governments charged VAT.

The spike in oil prices comes after Iran-backed Houthi rebels unleashed a coordinated attack on Saudi Arabia oil facilities and military bases.

Nowhere on Earth do pirates strike more often than the Gulf of Guinea, where more than 130 sailors were taken hostage last year.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget for fiscal year beginning April 1, announced monetisation of oil and gas pipeline assets of IOC, gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL).

The March contract of Brent on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was at $54.70 a bbl, higher by 0.74 per cent from its previous close.

The production of eight core sectors had recorded a growth of 0.7 per cent in November 2019, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed on Thursday.

Saudi Aramco said it was committed to a bumper dividend even as third quarter net profits dropped to 44.21 billion Saudi riyals ($11.79 billion), compared to $21.3 billion in the same period last year

The production of eight core sectors had contracted 5.1 per cent in September 2019, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry showed on Thursday.