OMCs may cut petrol prices by Rs 1.50-2/ltr effective May 1
A petrol price cut could be announced on Tuesday, sources told CNBC-TV18. It will be effective from midnight, and will be in the range of about Rs 1.50 a litre. The oil marketing companies (OMCs), according to sources, do have scope to cut prices by nearly Rs 2 a litre.
April 30, 2013 / 12:42 IST
A petrol price cut could be announced on Tuesday in the range of Rs 1.50 to Rs 2 a litre, sources told CNBC-TV18, effective from midnight. The oil marketing companies (OMCs), according to sources, do have scope to cut prices by nearly Rs 2 a litre. CNBC-TV-18’s Nayantara Rai reports.
International crude prices have crashed in the last fortnight. However, they have started rebounding.
The Indian basket had fallen to levels of nearly USD 97.66 a barrel, but it has gone up now to USD 101. The rupee also is not moving favourably against the dollar in the last few days. So, perhaps the oil marketing companies (OMCs) would take all that into account and decide to not pass on the entire benefit to the consumer. The last cut in petrol prices was on April 15, following a decline in international crude oil prices. There was no change in diesel price. After deregulation of diesel price in January, oil retailers have hiked prices by 50-51 paise per litre on three occasions . Industry experts do believe that OMCs have been cross-subsidising petrol with other subsidised fuels, and perhaps that will continue.With international crude prices coming down, the under recovery on diesel is down to almost Rs 4 a litre. Also, in the month of April we have not seen the regular diesel price hike as yet. Sources told CNBC-TV-18 that clarity will only emerge on Tuesday from the government whether Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) will actually go ahead and hike diesel prices by 40-50 paise a litre. There are a couple of other extraneous factors besides the fact that the under recovery on diesel has come down. Parliament is in session, Karnataka is going to the polls. Tuesday is when the OMCs will be holding their fortnightly review, post that is when we will see the announcement of a petrol price cut and have more clarity on whether diesel will indeed become more expensive for consumers. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
