Oil stocks slide as price hike fails to offset losses

MUMBAI: Despite a hike in retail fuel prices for petrol and diesel, stocks of oil marketing companies (OMCs) were deep in the red as market players said the price hike was not enough to offset daily losses these companies are incurring. Reports from Crisil and ICRA indicated that more price hikes are expected. Among the sector leaders, Indian Oil closed 4.1% down while BPCL was down 3.6%, HPCL lost 2.9% and Reliance Industries closed 1.9% lower. As a result, BSE’s oil & gas index closed 1.8% lower.
Sensex dropped 161 points to settle at 75,238, after swinging between gains and losses during the session. The decision to raise petrol and diesel prices marked a meaningful, if partial, step towards unwinding one of the more prolonged under-recovery cycles in recent memory, a report by Crisil Intelligence said. “At their peak (OMCs) were absorbing losses of Rs 23-30 per litre on petrol and diesel, translating to a combined daily loss of Rs 1,300-1,400 crore across petrol, diesel, and LPG.”

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