The Centre may overshoot the Rs 56,260 crore target for dividend receipts from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) set for FY25 and is likely to end up getting around Rs 65,000 crore this financial year, according to a senior government official. This excludes dividend from nationalised banks and financial institutions. As on October 21, the Centre collected Rs 28,913 crore as dividend and other investment from CPSEs, accounting for over 50 per cent of the Budget Estimate for FY25.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
Five out of the top 10 companies in Fortune 500 list of Indian companies are from the oil sector.
After a spike in crude oil and gas prices in October following the Hamas terror attack, prices eased down 9 per cent month-on-month in November. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Opec+ agreed to a further voluntary production cut in January-March 2024 to try and support global crude prices. The best guess here is that crude prices (currently at $75/barrel, or bbl) will not likely cross significantly above $80, and gas prices are also likely to remain subdued unless there's a further escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Jet fuel or ATF price on Wednesday was cut by almost 6 per cent after four rounds of monthly increases since July, while commercial cooking gas (LPG) rates were raised by a steep Rs 101.5 per 19-kg cylinder in line with international benchmarks. However, the price of domestic LPG - used in household kitchens for cooking purposes - remained unchanged at Rs 903 per 14.2-kg cylinder. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was cut by Rs 6,854.25, or 5.79 per cent, in the national capital to Rs 111,344.92 per kl from Rs 118,199.17, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
Indian imports of Russian oil plunged by a record in August month-on-month (M-o-M) as discounts on the fuel shrank in tandem with rising Brent oil prices. Higher crude prices will drive inflation or hurt earnings at oil companies and India's fiscal position if such spikes are not passed on to consumers. Indian purchases of Russian crude declined by around 24 per cent in August from July to the lowest level since January, with refiners expecting volumes to drop further amid rising rates of Russian benchmark Urals grade, substantial stocks at refiners, and planned maintenance at Indian refineries, according to ship tracking data and industry officials.
Government-owned companies are more generous in rewarding their shareholders with dividends.
The market responded positively to the Q1 results of oil marketing companies (OMCs), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) despite numbers being weaker than consensus. BPCL's reported gross refining margin (GRM) was in line at $7.9 per barrel (bbl) in Q1FY25, which implies marketing margin stood at Rs 4.8 per litre. Standalone profit after tax or PAT at Rs 3,000 crore was down versus consensus due to under-recoveries in LPG business.
In 12 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 6.55 per litre and diesel by Rs 7.04 a litre.
In all, petrol price has gone up by Rs 1.74 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.78 a litre in three days.
Many residents complained of suspected gas leak from Chembur, Ghatkopar, Powai and Vikhroli areas late on Saturday night, an official of the BMC's disaster management cell said.
Escalation of the conflict in West Asia between Israel and Iran has had a direct impact on the energy markets, and more broadly on the financial markets as well as the global economy.
Airfares in the country are set to rise, with IndiGo on Thursday introducing a fuel charge of up to Rs 1,000 based on a flight's distance, in response to the significant rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices in the last three months. The Indian aviation sector experiences its peak travel season between October and December. The inclusion of a fuel charge component in airfares is anticipated to have a sizable impact on IndiGo's passengers, according to experts.
The Oil Ministry has fixed the subsidy payout by upstream firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd at Rs 15,546.65 crore (Rs 155.46 billion) for the April-June quarter.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 80 paise a litre each on Saturday, the fourth increase in five days as oil firms passed on to consumers the spike in cost of raw material. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 98.61 per litre as against Rs 97.81 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 89.07 per litre to Rs 89.87, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. All the four increases since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22, have been of 80 paise a litre.
The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic divestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
Petrol price cut by 50 paisa a litre; diesel by 46 paisa.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum may post a combined loss of Rs 10,700 crore in June quarter on selling petrol and diesel at rates below cost, a report said on Monday. While the raw material (crude oil) prices soared in April-June, petrol and diesel prices were not revised, leading to marketing losses which offset strong refining margins, ICICI Securities said in the report. The three state-owned oil marketing companies -- IOC, BPCL and HPCL -- control 90 per cent of the retail petrol and diesel sales in the country.
All of these companies are present in India.
Share prices of both upstream and downstream public sector oil companies fell up to two per cent on Monday. Even Essar Oil, a private fuel retailer, fell 1.50 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
BPCL gained nearly 4% to Rs 674, while HPCL gained more than 2% to Rs 451.
Stocks of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have more headroom left despite the sharp run in the last few weeks, suggests a recent report from Morgan Stanley. Stocks of these oil refining and marketing companies (OMCs), it believes, are seeing multiples re-rate as investors reassess long-term growth prospects. "IOCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.2x, 19 per cent below +1 standard deviation (SD); BPCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.5x, near historical averages; HPCL trades at one year forward P/BV of 1.5x, near +1SD," Morgan Stanley said.
Capital expenditure by 54 large central public sector enterprises and five departmental arms, having a capex minimum target of Rs 100 crore, rose 93 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the April-May period to Rs 1.39 trillion. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Railways have started this financial year's capex cycle on a stronger note. In the first two months of FY24, the 54 CPSEs, along with the departmental arms, achieved 19 per cent of their combined budget target of Rs 7.33 trillion, Business Standard has learnt.
If the reforms are implemented, multi-brand retail majors such as Future Group and Reliance Retail might enter the fuel retail space.
Petrol price on Tuesday breached the Rs 85 a litre mark in the national capital and diesel neared record high after rates were raised for the second consecutive day. Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. This took the petrol price in Delhi to Rs 85.20 per litre and to Rs 91.80 in Mumbai. Diesel rate climbed to Rs 75.38 a litre in the national capital - just shying away from its record high - and to an all-time high of Rs 82.13 in Mumbai, the price data showed.
Petrol and diesel price soared to an all-time high across the country on Friday after rates were hiked again by 25 paise and 30 paise a litre, respectively. The price of petrol in Delhi rose it its highest ever level of Rs 101.89 a litre and to Rs 107.95 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel rates too touched a record high of Rs 90.17 in Delhi and Rs 97.84 in Mumbai.
India's crude oil imports from Russia fell for a second straight month in January to its lowest in 12 months but the nation's insatiable appetite for Russian crude remains for the long term, according to data from energy cargo tracker and industry officials. Russia supplied 1.2 million barrels per day of crude oil to India in January, down from 1.32 million barrels in December and 1.62 million barrels in November 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia however continues to remain India's top oil supplier, accounting for a little less than a quarter of 4.91 million barrels a day of oil that the world's third largest energy consumer imported in January.
Diesel price on Friday was hiked by 20 paise per litre - the first increase in rates in over two months - as international oil prices neared their highest since 2018. Price of diesel was hiked to Rs 88.82 per litre in Delhi and to Rs 96.41 in Mumbai, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Petrol price was not changed. It costs Rs 101.19 a litre in Delhi and Rs 107.26 in Mumbai.
Brokerages expect a further slowdown in Indian firms' revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY25, following low single-digit growth in the preceding three quarters, as factors like weak consumer demand and credit growth linger on.
Oil marketing companies on Friday cut petrol price by 32 paise, and diesel by 85 paise a litre with effect from midnight tonight.
Even as banks and finance companies are reporting record-high earnings, their weighting in the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index has seen a downward trajectory. Investors expect a stronger performance from other sectors in the new year. Currently, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies collectively hold a weighting of 34.5 per cent, down from 36.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 and a record high of 40.6 per cent at the end of December 2019. This represents the sector's lowest weighting in the index since December 2021 when it stood at 33.7 per cent.
Diesel rates had gone up by Rs 12.55 a litre between June 7, when oil firms resumed revising prices in line with cost, and July 25.
The price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was on cut by Rs 21 per cylinder and that of jet fuel (ATF) by a steep 3 per cent on the back of falling international oil rates.
There are about 23 oil refineries in India with a combined capacity of 230 million tonnes per annum.
Petrol price was on Monday hiked by Rs 2.19 a litre and diesel by 98 paise per litre.
As oil marketing companies (OMCs) stare at huge under-recoveries, India is facing fuel shortage across the country with states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Haryana being the worst hit. The under-recoveries suffered by OMCs are around Rs 20-25 a litre for diesel and Rs 14-18 a litre for petrol, said sources. Government and state-run companies denied reports of any crisis or supply-side issues on the availability of fuel.
Petrol price was on Wednesday hiked by a steep Rs 3.38 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.67 a litre, reversing a two-month declining trend.
Drivers of commercial vehicles, including trucks and tankers, stopped work in several states on Monday and blocked roads at some places to protest against the provision in the new penal law regarding hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.
The increase in rates announced by oil firms is excluding state levies and the actual hike will be higher.
Petrol price on Monday was hiked by 30 paise a litre and diesel by 35 paise, taking the total increase in rates in the last one week to Rs 4-4.10 per litre. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 99.41 per litre as against Rs 99.11 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.42 per litre to Rs 90.77, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.
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