More than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered in Mariupol, a major port city in eastern Ukraine that has been besieged by Russian troops for more than a month, according to Russia's defence ministry.
The ministry announced in a statement that "in the city of Mariupol... 1,026 Ukrainian personnel of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down their arms and surrendered."
The recent swings in global oil markets, with volatility at its highest level since June 2020, were reflected in the latest Indian crude oil basket statistics.
Indeed, on April 12, 2022, the Indian crude oil basket price jumped to $99.86 per barrel at a rate of 76.11 per dollar, up from $97.82 per barrel the day before at (Rs/$) 75.96.
While the Indian oil price is still cheaper than the $103.02 per barrel recorded on April 1 and the $112.87 average recorded in March, the rupee's depreciation is diminishing that advantage.
On April 1, 2022, the price of a barrel of oil was $103.02 at a rate of (Rs/$) 75.81.
A weaker currency means more rupees are exchanged for dollars, negating part of the benefit of lower Indian crude oil basket prices.
According to a study released on Wednesday by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Indian crude basket prices rose to $99.86 per barrel on April 12, 2022.
While lower than the average price in March, it is higher than the Indian crude oil basket price average of $84.67 per barrel in January, $94.07 in February, and much more than the average cost of roughly $63 per dollar in April of last year.
The recent weakening in the lead-up to the new statistics had prompted calls for fuel rate reduction, but the return to $100 a barrel on Tuesday does not bode well for consumers, who have seen their gasoline and diesel prices jump by a total of ten percent since late March.
After a four-month hiatus, state retailers resumed price revisions on March 22, raising prices xx times in the last xx days.
"Indian crude oil prices remain high," sources from the Petroleum Ministry told NDTV on April 6.
When queried about the softening trend at the time, Petroleum Ministry Sources said, "The price of crude oil in the international market remains high, with the Indian crude oil basket still hovering around $104 per barrel today."
"It used to be around $70 to $80 per barrel some months ago," the sources had added."