First Petro Price Hike in 2012 Likely Today
posted on Jan 2, 2012 @ 12:54PM
It hasn't been confirmed so far, but the Oil companies are likely to revise rates with a Rs. 2.10 - 2.13 per litre hike in petrol price saying that it is needed because of a weakening rupee. State-owned oil companies, as per practice, revise rates of petrol on 1st and 16th of every month based on the average imported price and exchange rate during the fortnight.
As per this schedule, new rates were to be announced on Saturday if they were take effect from yesterday, but top officials at oil companies said the revision was "99 per cent unlikely" yesterday. The oil companies, they said, will decide on revising rates only on Monday (Today). The rate change may, however, need a political clearance as Assembly elections in five crucial states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, have been announced.
According to official souces, international price of gasoline (against which domestic petrol prices are benchmarked) are more or less at the same level (as at the time of last revision), the rupee has depreciated to about Rs. 53 to a US dollar. This warrants an increase of Rs. 1.78 per litre and after adding local sales tax or VAT, the desired hike in petrol price in Delhi is Rs. 2.10 - 2.13 a litre. Incidentally, Oil firms had, at the last review on December 15/16, decided not to burden the consumers with about Re 1 per litre hike in petrol price needed at that time, as they felt Reserve Bank's intervention may help arrest fall in rupee's value.