Introduction
This paper examines the reasons for volatility observed globally in crude oil prices, the forecast in the next two decades, and also the impact that it presently has with respect to inflation, GDP, etc., and the options that are available in the Indian context. The prices of crude oil have seen a lot of turmoil around the world in the past decade, specifically in the last 5 years. The price has touched a high of $147 per barrel (bbl) during 2008 and dropped down as the global economy was hit by recession and demand for oil dipped. The prices again continued to rise till 2012, kept steady for about 3 years around $100/bbl till 2014 and again fell to a low of an average $43/bbl in 2016 and now again observed to be going up – till recently to $80/bbl in 2018.
