NEW DELHI: India may announce more measures to curb fuel consumption later this month and raise diesel prices by close to 10 percent soon in a bid to cut the biggest item in its import bill and support the rupee, government officials said.

The world’s fourth-biggest energy user is considering a 3-5 rupee increase in the price of diesel, which accounts for over 40 percent of fuel use, as it looks to cut oil costs by nearly $20 billion.

Rising global prices of crude oil and a slide in the rupee have left India facing an oil bill potentially 50 percent higher than on May 1.

“The timing and the quantum of the hike is a political decision,” said a government official who declined to be named. “But it should happen. Political discussions are going on.” The official said it would come sometime after the current parliament session ends on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said on Friday his oil ministry counterpart, M. Veerappa Moily, could announce steps to curb fuel consumption on September 16, when he gets back from a trip to South Korea and Japan.

“No matter what happens, we will have to cut down on fuel consumption,” Khurshid told business channel CNBC TV18. “You can’t keep subsiding the costs of fuel and not restrict the use of fuel.” Khurshid provided no details on the possible steps.

Moily suggested ways to cut fuel import costs in letters to the prime minister and finance ministry a week ago, ranging from a street theatre campaign to encourage careful use of fuel to stepping up imports from Iran, which India pays for in rupees. The official said talks were also on with Iraq, India’s biggest crude supplier, to pay in rupees for its oil.

Khurshid said Indians were increasingly realising the inevitability of moving away from government-controlled prices. “That’s beginning to happen but has political implications,” he said.

Fuel price rises generally provoke stiff resistance from opposition parties, and any increase now is expected to draw a bigger protest as India approaches a general election. The election must be held by May 2014.

SAVING BILLIONS ON SUBSIDIES?

India, where energy consumption per person is among the lowest in the world, has little elasticity in its fuel use as it tries to power exports and agriculture to help boost its economy and stave off a currency crisis.

The official said the government also hopes to be able to raise prices of cooking gas and kerosene, calculating the rupee’s fall has added 350-400 billion rupees to its subsidy bill, which is budgeted at 650 billion for 2013/14.

These two fuels are used largely by India’s poor and aspiring middle classes, making increases a hot political issue.

Diesel accounts for more than 40 percent of fuel demand, or about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), and the bulk of that is used by trucks, farmers and industry, which needs back-up generators to cope with frequent power blackouts.

Diesel demand has edged down 1.1 percent between April and July, Oil Secretary Vivek Rae told Reuters, largely due to reduced consumption by trucks as heavy monsoon rains in June and July hit road transport. The rains also reduced the need for farmers to run irrigation pumps.

Support from the government means diesel is now around 52 rupees a litre, some 10 rupees below market levels.

An increase of 5 rupees per litre on diesel could save as much as $4.3 billion in costs, Reuters calculations show. Total subsidies on fuel amount to about $25 billion a year, and India’s crude oil import bill was $144 billion last fiscal year.

A previous price rise of 5 rupees a litre in September last year had little impact on consumption, and monthly increments of about 1 cent per litre from January 2013 have actually been wiped out by the falling rupee and higher global oil prices.

Bulk purchases were put on a market footing at the start of this year, but there has been little impact on consumption.

Overall use of fuel products rose 1.1 percent between April and July, Rae said, with petrol consumption up 11.4 percent. Motorcycles and scooters, which run only on petrol, are the backbone of private transport in India, where middle-class incomes are still too small for most families to afford cars.

The government has also asked the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, which works for the oil ministry, to report on the potential for curbs to oil consumption, the government official said.

KATHMANDU: Gold prices went up in Nepal on Tuesday following the global trend. The increase comes as the nation prepares for the upcoming national festivals.

Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (NEGOSIDA) announced that the prices were increased by Rs 1,000 per tola (11.664 grams) in the domestic market.

With the revised pricing,  one tola of hallmark gold will now cost Rs 59,900 per tola today. Similarly price of silver also increased by Rs 15 and reached Rs 1,049 per tola today.

Taking it into consideration the increasing demand for the yellow metal, Nepal Rastra Bank is mulling to increase the gold import quota to 20 kilogram per day.

WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – China has agreed to join the international effort by the Group of 20 leading economies to combat tax evasion by signing an agreement to share tax records, the OECD said Wednesday.

China’s decision means that all G20 countries now have agreed to cooperate on tax avoidance, a priority set by global leaders to address the causes of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and to help combat corruption.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the global economic policy forum, said that Chinese Tax Commissioner Wang Jun will sign the convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in Paris next week.

China recently has ramped up its efforts to crack down on corruption in the world’s second-largest economy, arresting public officials on bribery charges, banning their elaborate expense-account dinners and investigating corporate activities.

Tax avoidance is frequently linked to corruption. Illicit funds, earned from crime, corruption and tax evasion, often are moved out a country via tax havens and by using shell companies. Sharing tax information can be an important tool in helping to track these funds.

Global Financial Integrity, a financial watchdog group, has estimated that more money flows out of China from illicit financial activity than any other developing country. Its latest report estimates the losses between 2000 and 2011 at $3.79 trillion.

China has yet to join the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention, the international standard for how to combat graft of public officials in foreign business transactions. Drago Kos, the OECD’s incoming anti-graft chief, said in a Thomson Reuters Foundation interview that getting the biggest developing economies on board will be a priority for his tenure

(Reporting By Stella Dawson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

LONDON: British consumer confidence dropped unexpectedly in April, mainly as a result of worsening personal finances, a survey from researchers GfK NOP showed on Tuesday.

The headline index in the poll fell to -27 from -26 in March, slightly weaker than analysts’ forecasts for another unchanged reading.

Although morale remains stronger than a year ago, the index is considerably below its average of -9 since the survey started in 1974.

“After three months of stability, the next move of the index was always going to be important,” said Nick Moon, Managing Director of Social Research at GfK. “The fall back, even though by only one point, implies the recovery in confidence has stalled, and real recovery looks a long way away.”

The poll of 2,001 Britons was carried out on behalf of the European Commission between April 5 and April 14, before official data showed that Britain’s economy avoided another recession, posting growth in the first three months of the year.

Spain’s unemployment rate soared to a new record of 27.2% of the workforce in the first quarter of 2013, according to official figures.

The total number of unemployed people in Spain has now passed the six million figure, although the rate of the increase has slowed.

The figures underline Spain’s struggle to emerge from an economic crisis which began five years ago.

A big demonstration in Madrid is being planned against the austerity measures.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will unveil fiscal and policy measures aimed at halting recession in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy.

“These figures are worse than expected and highlight the serious situation of the Spanish economy as well as the shocking decoupling between the real and the financial economy,” said Jose Luis Martinez, strategist at Citi.