Petrol price hike hopes fade: ONGC trims gains, BPCL tanks

Shares of oil retailers washed out early gains after the Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy said there was no immediate proposal to hike fuel prices, including petrol.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation dropped more than 3% while Indian Oil Corporation declined over 1%. Also read: Sensex off day's high as fuel price hike hopes wane While talking to media reporters outside the parliament, Reddy said the government has not taken decision yet on fuel prices. "We need to reduce burden on fuel retailers, but the government cannot fully compensate oil marketing companies," he added. IOC chairman R S Butola said they were losing Rs 16 crore per day on petrol sales. State-run oil & gas producer ONGC, which shares subsidy burden with oil retailers, trimmed gains to 0.5% from 2%. Earlier traders were hoping that oil ministry may allow oil marketing companies (OMCs) to announce Rs 5 per litre petrol hike in 24-48 hours, reported CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.