Middle East War: The Middle East war, involving the United States, Israel and Iran, has impacted India’s consumer goods markets compelling companies to raise prices as they battle soaring raw material costs, fluctuating currencies and heightened shipping fees.
Not only that, the disruption is also being witnessed across the food delivery space as Zomato has increased its platform fee by Rs 2.40, bringing the pre-tax charge to Rs 14.90 per order. The move comes amid surging crude oil prices driven by the ongoing West Asia conflict, which has significantly inflated fuel costs for delivery logistics.
A look at the sectors impacted by the war
Electronics
In the electronics segment, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Daikin and Havells-owned Lloyd have issued circulars to their trade partners announcing price increases.
LG, in a notice on Friday, said it will raise AC prices by 10 per cent, while prices of other products will go up by up to 5 per cent from April.Panasonic, too, informed the trade on Friday of an 8-12 per cent hike in AC prices, while Daikin India announced increases of up to 12 per cent.
Lloyd has already raised prices from Saturday. Samsung, too, has implemented price hikes, including for televisions, citing a surge in memory chip prices.Earlier, consumer goods makers had increased prices by 5-9 per cent in January for products such as ACs and TVs, passing on higher production costs.
Airlines hike ticket costs amid fuel price surge
As per media reports, IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air, and Cathay Pacific announced fuel surcharges.
Jet fuel, also known as Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), is one of the largest expenses for airlines. Rising global oil prices amid the Middle East conflict have spiked operating costs, prompting airlines to add a fuel surcharge to the tickets.
Air India’s surcharge ranges from Rs 399 for domestic flights to Rs 18,474 for international routes. IndiGo has announced an Rs 425 surcharge for domestic flights, rising to Rs 2,300 for its Europe routes, leading to higher airline fares worldwide.
Rupee slumps 50 paise to settle at fresh record low
The rupee breached the 94/dollar barrier for the first time, slumping 50 paise to a new record closing low of 94.03 (provisional) against the greenback on Monday (March 23, 2026), as spiralling global crude prices and unabated foreign fund outflows unnerved investors, according to PTI.
The rupee went past the 93-mark against the greenback on Friday (March 20) after crashing 64 paise to settle at 93.53.
“The rupee hit fresh all-time lows on Friday (March 20) and breached the 94-mark for the first time amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and weak domestic markets. Surge in crude oil prices and FII outflows, too, weighed on the rupee,” Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.
Tata Motors to raise commercial vehicle prices by up to 1.5% from April 1
Tata Motors has said it will increase the prices of its commercial vehicle range by up to 1.5 per cent from April 1.
The price increase is being undertaken to partially offset the impact of rising commodity prices and other input costs, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The increase will vary, depending on the model and variant, it added.
Oil companies hike premium petrol rates by Rs 2
State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) raised the price of industrial diesel and premium petrol on Friday as surging global crude prices — driven by the West Asia conflict — piled pressure on retail margins.
Industrial diesel, sold in bulk directly to commercial establishments, was hiked by Rs 21.92 a litre — a 25 per cent increase — taking the price in Delhi from Rs 87.67 to Rs 109.59 per litre. Premium petrol was raised by Rs 2 a litre, from Rs 99.89 to Rs 101.89 in the capital.
(With inputs from various media reports)
