Stressing that inflation was a major challenge for the economy, Mr. Pradhan said that India had already exhausted strategic petroleum reserves it had built up last year by taking advantage of lower oil prices, over the last few months. With retail prices for petrol crossing ₹100 per litre in several parts of the country, the Minister conceded that ‘today’s price is very challenging’. “I am persuading my friends in OPEC which is supposed to meet in the next few days. The Minister exuded confidence that the demand for petroleum products would return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021. Again, in the second wave of COVID in India, around April, May we saw a demand disruption this year,” he said.

Source: The Hindu June 29, 2021 17:48 UTC