The lubricant industry has seen it’s cost of production rising by 50% since the outbreak of the West Asia conflict making it imperative to pass on part of the extra burden on consumers. 

The industry done it in two phases and already 30% of the higher cost has been passed on to consumers from this month onwards and more hike is coming up.

“The entire petroleum industry was the first to get impacted. The consumers in India have still not got impacted on the fuel prices because of control of the government. Since March for all the companies, the costs have increased by 50%. So, anything that took about ₹100 to make is now costing ₹150,” said Nagendra Pai, CEO, Motul India & South Asia. 

Founded in 1853, Motul is a global company present in 160 countries. 

“Most of the companies like us purchased more raw material in March and because of that, up till end of April, the consumers were kind of insulated from a price increase for products,” he pointed out.

“From May 1, it is natural that one has to pass on some of the increases. So, there have been price increase. We have passed on about 30% in two tranches to the consumers. But the real impact is yet to come,” he said.

“Only the first impact has come which was minimal because of the stock in the pipeline,” he added.

“We believe that if things go positive, the second price increase can be avoided. But the good thing has been that there has been a bumper kind of a sale for the good, branded companies in April as well as in May because the top branded companies were able to get the raw materials as they havd long term contracts. The smaller local companies are unable to get products in the market,” he stated. 

The company on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) unveiled a Ipone, a premium French lubricant brand with Japanese DNA. The product is targeted at young bikers riding premium bikes.

“Motul has built its global authority on the science of performance lubricants. A premium and synthetic oils alone account for a quarter of our sales, and that foundation is non-negotiable. As a leading player in the category, we see a strong shift towards younger riders who are passionate about adventure riding, off-roading, and performance-led experiences,” Mr. Pai said, “Ipone launch sits at the intersection of two things we are deeply committed to: bringing the best lubrication technology to market, and premiumization that is meaningful, not cosmetic. To support this, Motul’s distribution network, both offline and online, is stronger than it has ever been, giving IPONE the reach to meet these riders wherever they are,” he said. 

Commenting on the new range, Milind Acharya, CMO, Motul India & South Asia stated, “Today’s young riders choose brands that reflect both their performance expectations and their identity. With IPONE, we are bringing Indian riders a brand that combines advanced PAO and Ester-based lubrication technology with a bold and distinctive personality.”

“Beyond performance, IPONE stands apart through its Japanese-inspired visual identity and rider-first approach. The belt-based product system further simplifies lubricant selection, making it more intuitive for riders across different segments. IPONE will initially launch across six core and fourteen key markets, with digital-led campaigns playing a central role in building engagement with the target audience,” he added. 

State-owned explorer Oil India’s net profits in the March-end quarter increased 12.5% on a year-over-year basis fuelled by a 5% improvement in average crude price realisation and 6% increase in crude oil production.

OIL’s standalone profit after tax in the reported quarter stood at ₹1,790 crore, against ₹1,591 crore in the comparable period last year.

This comes on the back of average crude price realisation, that is, the price it receives for the crude oil extracted, increasing to $77.89 per barrel in the reported quarter from $74.46 per barrel in the year-ago period.

In the reported quarter, Oil India produced 0.891 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil from their matured and old oilfields. This compares 0.844 MMT it produced in the comparable period last year.

Alongside the results, Oil India’s board recommended a dividend of ₹1 for each equity share.

Providing a fillip to the country’s pursuit of coal gasification, the Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a ₹37,500 crore package to boost the sustainable alternate mining method.

The package seeking to promote surface coal gasification entails conversion of coal into syngas (that is, synthetic gas) which be further used to produce downstream products like urea – about one-fifth of whose requirement is met through imports, methanol – approximately 80-90% of it is met through imports, ammonia on which there is complete import dependency, synthetic natural gas (SNG) and fertilisers, among other products.

“India’s import bill for key substitutable products LNG, urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonia, coking coal, methanol, DME and others stood at approximately ₹2.77 lakh crore in FY2025, a vulnerability further exposed by the ongoing geopolitical situation in West Asia,” the press announcement held.

With the scheme, India is targeting to gasification of approximately 75 million tonnes of coal and lignite. This would contribute to the 100 MT target set for 2030.

Further seeking to provide long-term certainty for investment in the realm, the government also extended the coal linkage tenure up to thirty years within an accompanying component of the scheme entailing production of syngas leading to coal gasification.

More importantly though, the scheme would accord a financial incentive of up to one-fifth of the cost of plant and machinery.

In terms of project size, the scheme caps a financial incentive of ₹5,000 crore for a single project, and for any single product-centred project, except that for SNG and urea, it extends up to ₹9,000 crore.

A single entity would be able to avail a maximum of ₹12,000 crore across all project categorisations.

The scheme further builds on the National Coal Gasification Mission, and the ₹8,500 crore incentive scheme which was approved in January 2024.

Eight projects under the latter scheme worth ₹6,233 crore are under implementation.

Notably, the Coal Ministry had told The Hindu earlier that “in the coming months, more projects are expected to come up”.

The Government on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) announced a hike in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy by ₹72 to ₹2,441 per quintal for the 2026-27 kharif marketing season, while steeper increases for pulses, oilseeds and cotton aimed at reducing import dependency and encouraging crop diversification.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved MSPs for 14 kharif crops ahead of sowing, which typically begins in June with the onset of the southwest monsoon.

For paddy, the MSP for common and A-grade varieties stands at ₹2,441 and ₹2,461 per quintal, respectively for 2026-27 kharif marketing season (September-October).

The MSP for cotton (medium staple) has been raised by ₹557 to ₹8,267 per quintal, while the long staple variety will fetch ₹8,667 per quintal, the second-highest absolute increase among all crops.

The highest absolute increase, however, has been recommended for sunflower seed at ₹622 per quintal, taking its MSP to ₹8,343 per quintal.

Nigerseed (up ₹515 to ₹10,052/qtl) and sesamum (up ₹500 to ₹10,346/qtl) also received significant increases.

Among other oilseeds, soyabean (yellow) was raised by ₹380 to ₹5,708 per quintal and groundnut by ₹254 to ₹7,517 per quintal.

In pulses, tur (arhar), MSP was raised by ₹450 to ₹8,450 per quintal, urad by ₹400 to ₹8,200 per quintal, while moong saw a marginal increase of ₹12 to ₹8,780 per quintal.

For other cereals, jowar (hybrid) MSP has been fixed at ₹4,023 per quintal (up ₹324), with the Maldandi variety at ₹4,073 per quintal.

Bajra has been raised by ₹125 to ₹2,900 per quintal, ragi by ₹319 to ₹5,205 per quintal, and maize by ₹10 to ₹2,410 per quintal.

Briefing reporters, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the MSPs have been fixed to ensure remunerative prices for farmers and are at least 50% above the cost of production across all 14 crops.

The margins are estimated to be highest for moong (61%), followed by bajra and maize (56% each) and tur/arhar (54%).

For the remaining crops, the margin is pegged at 50%. The Government estimates the total payout to farmers at ₹2.60 lakh crore, with annual procurement projected at 824.41 lakh tonne.

Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) president, Sudhakar Desai welcomed the MSP hike for oilseeds but reiterated the need for stable and dynamic import duty framework that can respond to changing global price cycles, domestic crop economics and inflationary trends.

State-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum’s net profit in the March-end quarter zoomed more than 46% from the comparable period last year, aided by a 69% improvement in gross-refining margins (GRM) during the reported period that did not entirely observe the impact of escalating tensions in West Asia, and their impact on fuel supplies.

The Mumbai-headquartered refiner’s net profit accelerated to ₹4,902 crore during the reported quarter from ₹3,355 crore in the comparable period last year.

This was primarily aided by an improvement in gross refining margins, which is the most important indicator of a refiner’s profitability, from $8.14 for every barrel processed in the year-ago period to $14.27 per barrel in the current reported quarter.

Revenues spurred 4.45% on a year-over-year basis to more than ₹1.23 lakh crore in the reported quarter.

The state-owned refiner did not provide a guidance considering the uncertainties because of the tensions in the Middle East.

No guidance provided amidst West Asia uncertainties

Speaking to investors at an analyst call, Vikas Kaushal, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), stated, “Given the volatile situation, we have said previously we are uncomfortable giving the number (guidance). It is unfair at this point [because] what if prices change tomorrow, things will go all over the place.”

Essential to note herein, amidst the escalating tensions in West Asia and its impact on energy trade, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri had stated that oil-marketing companies were staring at under-recoveries of up to ₹2 lakh crore during the ongoing quarter, with losses expected to scale to about ₹1 lakh crore.

At the analyst call, Hindustan Petroleum informed they made losses of up to ₹170 per LPG cylinder in April and ₹670 per cylinder in May.

More LPG from U.S.

Mr. Kaushal also confirmed that the state-owned refiner’s LPG procurement from United States has increased during the reported period.

“Our sourcing from U.S.’ LPG in this period has gone up. A lot more has started coming in May and will come in June, than [in] March,” he stated.

The CMD informed this was part of OMCs collectively taking the initiative to source LPG from U.S.

“Every month, all are getting four cargoes between them and there are some optional cargoes. So that is flowing all this while,” he stated.

The rupee touched its lowest-ever intraday level of 95.80 against the U.S. dollar, weakening for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) due to elevated crude oil prices and fear of a prolonged global trade disruption amid the West Asia crisis.

According to forex analysts, in the backdrop of surging crude oil prices, the government’s move to raise import duties on gold and silver may not be enough to ease the overall demand for the safe-haven greenback.

Effective May 13, the government raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15% from 6% to curb overseas purchases of the metals and ease pressure on the country’s forex reserves.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee logged a fall of 21 paise during the session, and it hit the day’s high of 95.51 against the greenback, even though it opened the session at 95.52, 16 paise higher than its previous day’s closing level.

In the past three sessions, the Indian currency has lost 96 paise since May 7, when it ended at 94.22 against the U.S. dollar.

Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said the rupee hit a fresh record low on rising crude oil prices and a surge in inflation.

“Stalemate between the U.S. and Iran on peace talks has led to risk aversion in global markets. A strong dollar and FII outflows too pressurised the rupee,” he said and projected the USD-INR spot price to trade “in a range of ₹95.45 to ₹96.15”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.46, up 0.29%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.22% at $107.73 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 79.50 points higher at 74,638.74, while the Nifty was up 39.50 points to 23,419.05.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹1,959.39 crore on Tuesday (May 12, 2026), according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, retail inflation inched up to 3.48% in April mainly due to higher prices of gold and silver jewellery as well as some kitchen items, according to government data released on Tuesday (May 12, 2026).

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, with base year 2024, was 3.40% in March, 3.21% in February, and 2.74% in January.

The State of Maryland has reached a settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine, the owner and operator of the Indian-manned container ship Dali that collided with a bridge in Baltimore in March, 2024.

Several media outlets have quoted Maryland State Attorney General Anthony G. Brown’s statement, reporting that the settlement is for an amount of $2.5 billion.

Insurance experts had earlier predicted that the Dali accident would equal or surpass the then-highest-ever marine insurance payout of $1.5 billion in the case of the Costa Concordia cruise vessel capsizing in 2012. The U.S. federal government has said the total damages from the accident were $5 billion.

In October of 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice had settled with Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean for $102 million in a separate civil suit regarding claims by federal agencies.

The Maryland settlement is said to resolve civil claims brought against the vessel interests on behalf of the State and its agencies, including the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

Just ahead of the settlement announcement, Synergy Marine of Singapore, Synergy Maritime of Chennai and their employee Radhakrishnan Karthick Nair, technical superintendent of Dali, were charged with criminal charges by the U.S. Department of Justice. They have been charged with conspiracy, wilfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements, as well as pollution.

Air India on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) announced reduction of international flights and temporary suspension of services on six routes, including Delhi-Chicago, amid airspace curbs and high jet fuel prices.

The loss-making airline, which has already reduced flights on certain routes, said the latest announced rationalisation of services will be in place during the June-August period.

A combination of factors, including continued airspace restrictions over certain regions and record high jet fuel prices for international operations, are significantly impacting the commercial viability of certain planned services, Air India said in a statement.

The loss-making airline will be temporarily suspending services on Delhi-Chicago, Mumbai-New York, Delhi-Shanghai, Chennai-Singapore, Mumbai-Dhaka, and Delhi-Male routes till August.

According to the statement, the airline will continue to operate more than 1,200 international flights every month.

These include 33 flights per week to North America, 47 flights per week to Europe, 57 flights per week to the UK, eight flights per week to Australia, 158 flights per week to the Far East, Southeast Asia, and SAARC regions, and seven flights per week to Mauritius (Africa).

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), snapping their four-day losing streak, as elevated crude oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainties restricted the upside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 49.74 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 74,608.98. During the day, the index touched a high of 75,191.57 and a low of 74,134.48, gyrating 1,057.09 points.

The 50-share NSE edged higher by 33.05 points or 0.14% to end at 23,412.60.

From the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel and Larsen & Toubro were among the winners.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra were among the biggest laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.5% to $107.27 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,959.39 crore on Tuesday (May 12), according to exchange data.

“After two consecutive heavy sell-off sessions, Indian equity markets witnessed a relatively stable session today, with benchmark indices managing to close marginally in the green.”

“The market traded largely range-bound through the day, indicating a temporary pause in panic selling, although underlying sentiment continues to remain cautious amid persistent global and domestic macro concerns,” Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said.

India’s retail inflation rose slightly to 3.48% in April, mainly due to higher prices of gold and silver jewellery as well as some kitchen items, according to government data released on Tuesday (May 12).

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended in positive territory.

Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.

U.S. markets ended mostly lower on Tuesday (May 12).

On Tuesday (May 12), the BSE benchmark tanked 1,456.04 points, or 1.92%, to settle at 74,559.24. The Nifty dropped 436.30 points, or 1.83%, to end at 23,379.55.

Cipla, third-largest drugmaker ​by revenue, reported a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter profit on ‌Wednesday (May 13, 2026), as sharp weakness in its U.S. business ​and higher costs outweighed strong domestic ⁠demand.

The drugmaker’s consolidated net profit fell 54.6% year-over-year (YoY) to ₹5.55 billion ($58 million) in the quarter ended ‌March 31, missing analysts’ average estimate of ₹7.05 billion, according to data compiled ‌by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

Total revenue from operations fell ‌2.8% ⁠to ₹65.41 billion, below the average ⁠expectations of ₹67.49 billion, hurt by a sales decline in its key North America market.

Domestically, ​Cipla’s biggest market ‌by sales, jumped 15% to ₹30.07 billion, while revenue from North America fell 26% to ₹14.14 billion. The Indian and North American ‌markets account for roughly three-fourths of the ​drugmaker’s total sales. Total expenses rose nearly 8.5% to ₹18.82 billion, driven by ⁠higher costs. The company also recorded an impairment charge of about ₹420.2 million on its ‌associates, adding to cost pressures.

Analysts at Jefferies Group said in a pre-earnings note that they expect U.S. sales to decline in the near term owing to erosion in key products, with margins likely to remain under pressure until new ‌launches scale up.

The company declared a dividend of ₹13 per share. Rival Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit on ⁠Tuesday (May 12, 2026), hurt by an impairment charge linked to ⁠its discontinued cancer therapy programme. However, Cipla shares were trading 4.23% higher in the afternoon. ‌The stock has fallen about 14.3% so far this year. ($1 = ₹95.6700)