The price of Brent crude - the global benchmark for prices - dropped below $100 a barrel for the first time since the start of March.

The RAC has said it is "vital" that fuel retailers start passing on falling wholesale prices to consumers.

Petrol prices hit another record high on Monday, meaning it costs more than £90 to fill a family car, the RAC said.

The average price of a litre of petrol rose to 163.71p on Monday, and diesel also hit a fresh record of 173.68p.

Oil prices soared after Russia invaded Ukraine, with the price of Brent crude oil hitting a near 14-year high at one point.

But in the past few days, the price of oil has dropped due to a number of factors, including hopes of progress in ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, and also expectations that demand from China will ease as Covid cases there surge.

Brent crude fell to about $98 a barrel on Tuesday before recovering some ground.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said that although petrol prices were at record highs, drivers "should be encouraged" by the fall in oil and wholesale prices.

"It's now vital that the biggest retailers who buy fuel most often start to reflect these reductions at the pumps to give drivers a much-needed break from the pain of constantly rising prices," he added.

The AA said that the wholesale price of petrol has plummeted by 12.8p a litre since Wednesday.

Luke Bosdet from the AA said: "We should be seeing these record prices level off and start to fall away later this week. If not, MPs who are being deluged by complaints from angry constituents, need to be asking questions in Parliament.

"The government is under intense pressure from the cost of living crisis. They don't need the fuel trade to 'feather' a potential drop in pump prices."

Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium said supermarket retailers "understand the cost pressures" facing motorists, and will do "everything they can to offer the best value-for-money across petrol forecourts, particularly if the price of oil falls".

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent forecourts, said it would expect prices to fall when fresh stock is delivered.

Gordon Balmer, the PRA's Executive Director, said forecourts bought from suppliers based on a price with one or two days' lag, or in some cases a week's lag. This means it can take a few days for wholesale prices to filter through to the pumps.

Global shifts in price

Oil prices are mainly determined by the price of crude oil and the dollar exchange rate, as agreements are made in dollars.

Russia is the third largest oil exporter and some Western countries, for example the US and Canada, decided to halt imports from the country in response to Russia's actions. It means demand for oil from other producers has increased, leading to increased prices.

The UK only imports about 6% of oil from Russia, so is not as dependent on Russia for the commodity supply as other European countries are and has said it plans to phase it out.

It is, however, affected by the global shifts in price.

On Monday, some analysts told MPs on the Treasury Committee that they expected the recent fall in the oil price to be temporary.

Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at financial services company Investec, said further restrictions on Russian oil exports would mean consumers "need to get ready for what could be continued increases in fuel prices."

Dr Amrita Sen, director of research at Energy Aspects, told the committee that petrol prices could rise to around £2.40 a litre. And that diesel prices of "£2.50 - even closer to £3" were "definitely in the realms of possibility".

Energy Minister Greg Hands has said the UK's transition to cleaner forms of energy production is now "an issue of national security" and not just of decarbonisation.

As the Ekushey Boi Mela (Book Fair) 2024 crossed its seventh day yesterday, publishers and book sellers are hopeful for increased sales and public engagement, despite not yet reaching their anticipated sales targets.

The Dhaka Metro Rail has infused the fair with a new vibrancy, making it more accessible for visitors from distant areas like Uttara, Mirpur, and Motijheel. Ovi Islam, from Farmgate, shared his positive experience of using the metro rail to bypass traffic jams, despite the initial long wait for tickets.

Although some visitors, like Ovi who visited the fair three times without purchasing books, contribute to the growing foot traffic, the overall sales have yet to see a significant boost.

Another group of visitors from Uttara noted the ease of accessing the fair this year, thanks to the metro rail, which has offered a way to avoid the infamous Dhaka traffic congestion.

Book sellers expressed mixed feelings about the fair's progress. While visitor numbers are on the rise, actual book purchases remain lower than expected. Nur Hossen Sarkar from Anupam Prokashoni observed that many attendees are more interested in browsing than buying. Similarly, Mohammad Jabed from Mowla Brothers noted a slight decrease in sales compared to the initial days but remains hopeful for an uptick in activity.

Some exhibitors have faced challenges with their stall placements, leading to visibility and accessibility issues. Sumon Saj from Nongor Publication voiced concerns about being allocated a less favorable location and has reported the issue to Bangla Academy without seeing significant action.

Some publishers also expressed dissatisfaction about the overall arrangement and environment. These issues suggest that while the metro rail has made the fair more accessible, improvements are still needed in its organization and visitor experience.

With the fair still underway, publishers and sellers are optimistic about a surge in sales and visitor numbers, especially with the upcoming weekend.

-UNB

Private sector’s Shahjalal Islami Bank is in trouble with realisation of the loan from Dhaly Construction and grant of new loan of Tk 408 crore to the company. The loan was disbursed without adequate collateral and verifying the financial status of the customer.

According to the report of Bangladesh Bank, the then managing director and board of directors, along with the officers of the relevant departments of the bank's branch and head office, cannot avoid the responsibility of this irregularity, said a report of the Bangladesh Bank.

It is known that Dhaly Construction took a loan of Tk 129 crore in 2013 from Trust Bank's Dilkusha branch in the capital. At the end of 2015, the loan amount increased to Tk 156 crores.

In November 2015, Dhaly Construction applied to Shahjalal Islami Bank to acquire the Trust Bank loan. Dhanmondi branch of Shahjalal Islami Bank acquired Dhaly Construction Limited's loan of Tk 118 crore from Trust Bank in December of that year.

In December, Shahjalal Islami Bank disbursed an additional Tk 188 crore funded and Tk 70 crore unfunded loan to Dhaly Construction Limited. In August 2017, Shahjalal Islami Bank gave another loan of Tk 115 crore. Of this, 85 crores are funded and 30 crores are non-funded. But Shahjalal Islami Bank could not tell Bangladesh Bank how much money has been loaned and against which assets.

According to the report, Shahjalal Islami Bank gave the loan forcefully to Dhaly Construction due to the failure of various companies to pay their debts. As a result, at the end of April this year, the amount of loan disbursed by Shahjalal Islami Bank to Dhaly Construction stood at Tk 408 crore. Out of this, 350 crore are funded and 58 crore non-funded.

Shahjalal Islami Bank was unable to collect the money despite repeated efforts. Dhaly Construction has mortgaged 721 acres of land and a building measuring 37,000 square feet as security against the loan.

In this regard, a deputy managing director of Shahjalal Islami Bank, on condition of anonymity, told the media that “Dhaly Construction is in a good position among the country's construction companies. We have business relationship with them since 2015. The company is facing big challenges due to the epidemic. Although we are hopeful of recovering the loan, it will take more time to get the money back.”

Regarding cashing the bill of Dhaly Construction through another bank instead of Shahjalal Bank, the Deputy Managing Director said that Dhaly Construction did this due to the need for cash. They thought that if they deposit the bill in the bank, the money will be deducted to pay off the loan.

However, when asked about the violation of the bank's board of directors policy in disbursing loans, he refused to make any comment.

Dhaly Construction chairman Rafique Uddin told the media that “Our company has implemented large road and construction projects including several university buildings in the country. We have been facing challenge since Covid pandemic as some our projects had to be stopped. Moreover, the abnormally high prices of construction materials also increased the project cost."

When asked about repayment of loan from Shahjalal Islami Bank, he said that new projects will be taken up and the loan will be repaid. The business relationship with the bank will also continue.

Dhaly Construction Advisor MM Mizanur Rahman told the media that there were some errors in the documents. It will be resolved quickly. He said, the bank can collect the debt by selling the company's assets. Apart from this, the company is involved in several construction projects. If the work of these projects is completed, the loan can be paid.

According to the central bank report, it was directed by the Board to take security equal to the investment while disbursing the loan. But, only Tk 90 crore of collateral (land and building) was taken against the funded loan of Tk 188 crore. The board was not informed of the investment with less security.

According to the report, Shahjalal Bank could not provide any information to the central bank's inspection team about the amount of money invested against specific work orders and the number of bills received in respect of those work orders.

The report said that the board of the directors of the bank advised taking a legal opinion before approving funded loans of Tk 188 crore and non-funded loans of Tk 70 crore and mortgaging 721 khata land. But the bank did not take into consideration the legal opinion while giving the loan. As no collateral is taken for new loans, the bank's investment becomes risky.

Country's both the bourses, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) today plunged further due to mainly price fall in large-cap securities.

DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slid 65 points, or 1.01 per cent, at 6,413 at the end of the day. The DS30, the index that consists of blue-chip companies, went down 0.93 per cent to 2,277, while the DSES, the Shariah-complaint index, plummeted 0.80 per cent to 1,406.

Turnover at the DSE dropped 3 per cent to Taka 1,297 crore which was Taka 1,343 crore on the previous day.

At the DSE, 26 stocks advanced, 153 declined and 182 did not show any price movement.

Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing topped the gainers' with an 8.64 per cent rise. Fine Foods, Rahima Food Corporation, Eastern Cables, and Eastern Lubricants also advanced over 5 per cent.

Apex Foods suffered the highest correction, sliding almost 13 per cent. Far East Knitting, BDCOM Online, Navana CNG, and Apex Spinning declined more than 9 per cent.

The CASPI, the all-share price index of the Chattogram Stock Exchange, decreased 164 points, or 0.86 per cent to end at 18,895.

Of the issues on the port city bourse, 34 advanced, 104 declined, and 80 remained unchanged.

- BSS

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) today approved six projects with Tk 7,018 crore.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (October 11).

The premier joined the meeting virtually from her official Ganabhaban residence here while ministers, state ministers, planning commission members and secretaries concerned were connected to it from the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.

After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan gave details in the press conference.

thousand 362 crore 63 lakh will come from the government funding, Tk 2 thousand 386 crore 48 lakh from foreign funding and Tk 269 crore 62 lakh from the organization's own funding. 

The remittance inflow sinks to lowest in seven months. The inflow of remittance dropped around 25% in September to $1.54 billion compared to August earnings. 

Bangladesh received $2.04 billion in remittances in August, according to central bank data published Sunday (2 October).

The total remittance inflow in the current financial year is $5.67 billion, which was $5.41 billion during the same period last year.

According to experts, the cost of living for expatriates increased due to global inflation. Additionally, they are preferring hundi over legal remittance channels as they are getting Tk5-6 per dollar more than the bank exchange rate.

They had expressed concern that the Hundi channel may become more active. 

Remittances dropped to a seven-month low in September as the central bank fixed the dollar exchange rate for inward remittance. Bangladesh received a lower remittance of $1.49 billion last February.

Bankers said the downfall happened after, on the advice of the central bank on 12 September, the banks fixed the dollar exchange rate for remittances at Tk108.

However, bankers had initially feared that remittances may decrease due to fixing the exchange rate. The exchange houses said that the remittances came in less in the first week after the rate was fixed as remitters could not be given higher rates. 

A visit to the website of several exchange houses including Moneygram and Western Union shows that they are paying Tk106-107 per dollar for remittance inflow. However, the houses also charge $1-2 as transfer fee. 

As a result, those who send remittances in small amounts do not get an average rate of more than Tk104-105 a dollar. 

At present remittance through Hundi yields Tk113-114 per dollar. Due to fixed exchange rate at banks, the difference between dollar price of Hundi and the banking channel is at least Tk6-7.