Business Business: Common people are expected to get a lot of relief in the festive season. A reduction of 2-3 rubles per liter in the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel is possible. Actually, low crude oil prices in recent weeks have boosted the profits of oil companies from auto fuel. This has helped oil companies to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by two to three rupees per liter. Rating agency ICRA reported this on Thursday, while CLSA said that petrol and diesel prices may fall after October 5. This speculation comes after comments by Indian Oil Minister Pankaj Jain last month suggesting a price cut and media reports that elections in the state of Maharashtra are expected to be held in early November and will have final dates in mid-October.
ICRA said in a statement that the marketing margins of Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) in retail auto fuel sales have improved in the last few weeks amid falling crude oil prices. According to the rating agency, retail fuel prices are likely to fall if crude oil prices remain stable at current levels.
ICRA Senior Vice President and Group Head Girish Kumar Kadam said, “ICRA estimates that the net OMC implementation at international product prices in September 2024 (as on September 17) will be Rs 15 per litre for petrol and Rs 15 per litre for diesel fuel, a higher price of Rs 12 per litre. The retail selling prices (RSPs) of these fuels have remained unchanged since March 2024 (petrol and diesel prices were reduced by Rs 2 per litre on March 15, 2024) and it appears that with stable crude oil prices, there is scope for a cut of 2-3 rubles per litre.
Crude oil prices have fallen sharply in recent months, mainly due to weak global economic growth and rising production in the US. At the same time, OPEC and allied countries extended their decision to roll back production cuts by two months to counter falling prices.
