Colombo, March 17 -- Oil prices are on the increase again and the obvious impact is not just confined to the sphere of macro economy. It's happening when we can least afford to let it be, in the light of worries about global growth, worsened by trade disputes, conflicts in the Middle East and of course, the messy-nature of the Brexit.

If the current trend of the oil price continues, it will certainly damage the global growth. When that happens, the demand for fuel will fall and the price will follow the inevitable trend. Petroleum exporting countries, which are still reeling from the bumpy ride that started in 2014, know too well how bad a repetition of that kind it.

At present, the Chinese economy is slowing down and the authorities ma...