Crude Pains for OMCs to Persist
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After hovering at record highs, Brent crude prices have lost steam and are down to $75/bbl, currently. Given a weak global macro outlook, reports indicate crude prices will stay sanguine in the $75-85 range for the year. While that is good news for companies whose input costs are based on crude derivatives, it will be a negative for state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) which have had to bear the brunt of higher losses in FY23 as they could not hike fuel prices. Analysts expect PSU refiners’ gross refining margins to trend lower at $10.3-16.5/bbl owing to poor crude oil realisation.
Wheat Prices to Sizzle
Though the FAO Cereals Price Index has shown a fifth consecutive monthly decline, prices in India are still elevated. Cereal inflation has reached a new peak of 15% for urban India and 18% for rural India. Prices of wheat and paddy, which account for 80% of India’s total cereal production, are expected to stay high as India is exporting wheat since the Russia-Ukraine war has impacted supply from these two countries which account for 20-25% of global supplies. Food companies will have to take a hit on their gross margins if cereal prices stay elevated.
July 2025
In the world’s youngest nation—where over 65% of the population is under 35—India’s future is already being shaped by those bold enough to lead it. From boardrooms to breakout ideas, a new generation of business leaders is rewriting the rules. This year's Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 celebrates these changemakers—icons in the making like Akash Ambani, Kaviya Kalanithi Maran, Shashwat Goenka, Parth Jindal, Aman Mehta, and Devansh Jain—who are not just carrying forward legacies but boldly reimagining them for a new era. Alongside them are first-generation disruptors like Sagar Daryani, scaling Wow! Momo with a vision to take ₹100 momos to 5,000 cities, and Palak Shah, turning the Banarasi weave into a global fashion story with Ekaya Banaras. These are the entrepreneurs turning ambition into scale. And even beyond traditional industry, the entrepreneurial wave is pulling in creative forces—Ranveer Singh, for instance, is shaking up wellness and nutrition with Bold Care and SuperYou, proving that passion, backed by purpose, is the new blueprint for building brands.
Weak Rubber To Stretch Tyremaker Margins
Rubber futures traded at 131 cents /kg, holding close to their lowest in 13 weeks, amid ongoing concerns about faltering demand from the biggest consumer, China. Natural rubber prices are now near a two-year low. But the downward trend in prices will improve margins for tyremakers. Analysts predict that for every 10% change in natural rubber, synthetic rubber and carbon black prices, operating profit margin will change by 160 basis points, 80 basis points and 100 basis points for tyremakers.
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