Sharp Rise In Price Of Crude Will Cause Problems For Country, Says Chidambaram

With tensions between the US and Iran escalating in view of the killing of Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani, Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said that any sharp rise in prices of crude will hurt the people badly.

Chidambaram told ANI in an interview that if oil prices flare-up, "it will hurt us badly". He said the budget is premised on a certain average price of a barrel of oil.

"Immediate impact will be if oil prices flare-up. Our budget is premised on a certain average price of a barrel of oil. If that goes up sharply, it will hurt us very badly. It will impact the import bill, the current account deficit, fiscal deficit; there are a series of downside effects of it. Secondly, prices will go up. If oil prices flare-up, we are in trouble," said he. A US airstrike near Baghdad international airport killed Iran's elite Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani on Friday.