Friday, March 23, 2012

Oil firms eye window to hike petrol price

NEW DELHI: State-run fuel retailers may make a dash for raising petrol price steeply after Parliament goes into recess on March 30 even as oil minister S Jaipal Reddy on Friday ruled out deregulation of diesel prices.



\"As of now, we are not contemplating deregulation of diesel prices,\" Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of the seventh Asia Gas Partnership Summit here. He also admitted to \"some kind of discontinuation\" of the petrol price in recent times.



The government gives retailers cash subsidy to keep prices of kitchen fuels and diesel prices artificially low. Diesel price will go up by Rs 14.73 a litre, if the government lifts pricing controls.



While petrol is officially deregulated, the retailers do not change the fuel\'s pump prices without the parent oil ministry\'s informal nod. The ministry prevented them from raising prices for fear of stoking public anger months before assembly polls.



Now that polls are over, the retailers are expected to use the small window that opens after Parliament\'s recess to raise petrol price by up to Rs 5 a litre. But the jury is still out whether they will get the ministry\'s nod, given Trinamool\'s opposition to fare and user charge hikes.



IndianOil Corporation chairman R S Butola said the retailers would review petrol price next week as their loss on petrol on the fuel has risen to Rs 7.72 per litre. \"We are losing Rs 6.43 per litre on petrol and after adding 20% sales tax, the desired increase in rates in Delhi is Rs 7.72 per litre.\"



The international price of gasoline (against which domestic petrol prices are benchmarked) have risen from $109 a barrel at the time of last revision in December, 2011, to $134 per barrel at present.



Oil firms had last revised rates on December 1 when prices were cut by 78 paise per litre. Petrol at IOC pumps in Delhi is currently priced at Rs 65.64 per litre and the rates vary by a couple of paise at pumps of Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum.



He said oil companies have requested the government to compensate them for selling petrol at rates below cost just like it does for diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

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