Reduced pressure from crude, rupee prompts FMCG firms to defer price hikes

Ease in inflation amid drop in oil prices has prompted firms to defer price increases

The drop in crude oil prices by 30 per cent in the last month and a half has brought relief to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies battling inflationary pressures. The rupee-dollar exchange rate, too, has fallen in the wake of a drop in crude oil prices, prompting companies to postpone price hikes they earlier planned to take up.

In July-August, most FMCG players had taken 2-3 per cent price hikes in select categories, with a second round across a broader swathe of products slated for now. “That has been deferred,” Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer of Dabur India, said when