Oil marketers bump up petrol prices again
17 Jan 2011
Shares of oil marketing companies, all three of them state-run, rose today after they raised petrol prices by Rs2.50-Rs2.54 per litre with effect from today on back of rising crude oil prices.
Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) raised petrol prices by Rs2.53 a litre, Hindustan Petroleum Corp by Rs2.54 a litre; and Indian Oil Corp by Rs2.50 per litre. The retailers are deliberately adopting marginally different rates to avoid being accused of acting as a cartel in the recently freed market.
The increase, the second in 30 days, comes on the back of rising international crude oil prices. With this increase, petrol prices have gone up by nearly Rs7 a litre, an increase of 13.4 per cent, since being decontrolled in June 2010.
The price of other petroleum products - diesel, kerosene and cooking gas (LPG) - which together account for over 60 per cent of petroleum products consumption in India, has not been increased since 25 June 2010.
Based on the increased crude oil price, the oil marketing companies are expected to incur a revenue loss of Rs73,000 crore during the current financial year on sale of diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at government-controlled prices.
Meanwhile, state-run oil marketing companies have also raised jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel prices by 2 per cent with effect from today.