Petrol prices to go up by Rs 0.65 per litre from midnight?

HP Petrol bunk

The state owned oil companies have arrived at a decision to hike the price of petrol by Rs 0.65. Now, the oil companies are awaiting the decision of the government to finalize the the price rise. We expect the Government of India to make an announcement today. Prices of petrol could thus go up by midnight if the new pricing plan is accepted by the ministry. The latest wave of price hike comes as the value of Indian rupee reached a record low against the US dollar.

The value of the Indian rupee hit its all time low, nearly 20 percent from its July high. The value stood at Rs 54.30 per UD dollar after its depreciation continued for the last four days. India’s state run oil companies depend heavily on crude oil imports which have a direct effect on the domestic prices. Even as the international price of crude oil remains stable the depreciating rupee has resulted in further losses for the oil companies. Since, the government regulates prices of other petroleum products like diesel, kerosene and LPG, oil companies are left with no other option but to hike price of petrol.

Hence, the petrol price hike. Still, as the Petroleum ministry decides upon the proposal of the oil marketing companies, a price hike at this point of time seems inevitable. Having said that, we will still have to wait for the confirmation from the Government of India. At this moment we expect the hike to around 65 paise per litre. Just a few weeks back the oil marketing companies had slashed the price of petrol giving a much needed respite to the average Indian consumer. If the fall of the rupee continues in the coming weeks (which it could) expect prices to up even further.