RBI may ‘kill excess demand’ in economy in six-eight months

 The RBI increased the limit for keeping specified securities in the HTM portfolio from 22 per cent to 23 per cent

With inflation remaining at elevated levels, central banks around the world, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will kill excess demand in economy over the next six to eight months, sources in the know said. They also indicated that there could be a rate hike in June, when the inflation forecast for the current financial year would be raised. The RBI, the sources said, might announce more steps such as raising the limit on held-to-maturity (HTM) bonds to support government borrowings but might not come out with any further quantitative easing GSAP (Government Securities …….

High transportation cost pushes petrol in Maha's Parbhani to Rs 122.67

 With fuel prices being hiked multiple times over the last two weeks, the rate of petrol in Parbhani district in Maharashtra reached Rs 122.67 a litre on Tuesday

With fuel prices being hiked multiple times over the last two weeks, the rate of petrol in Parbhani district in Maharashtra reached Rs 122.67 a litre on Tuesday, one of the highest prices in the country, mainly due to the higher transportation cost. The steep rise is also attributed to the long distance of over 400 km between Parbhani city located in the Marathwada region and the fuel depot at Manmad in the Nashik district in north Maharashtra, a petrol dealer said.

“The cost of fuel in Parbhani (district) is high due to the long distance between the Panewadi fuel depot at Manmad in Nashik district and Parbhani city,” Parbhani Petrol Dealers Association president Amol Bhedsurkar told PTI on Tuesday.He said the round trip distance for a tanker transporting fuel to Parbhani from the Panewadi-based depot in Manmad is nearly 730 km.

“The fuel transportation cost for Parbhani is nearly Rs 2.07 per litre. The overall cost runs into Rs 24,000 for operating a fuel tanker on the Manmad-Parbhani-Manmad trip,” he said. Bhedsurkar further said the fuel depot at Panewadi is the nearest to Parbhani compared to other such depots in Maharashtra…Read More

Fuel price hike takes away speed from SUVs; growth of domestic sales slows

Domestic sales growth fall to a single digit after two years

 (BS) | Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have been the flavour of the Indian car market for the last couple of years. They grew at a strong double-digit and were the fastest growing segment in the domestic passenger vehicle (cars, utility vehicles and vans) market for the last two years. Things are no longer the same. UVs or utility vehicles are now the slowest growing segment of the PV market, visibly impacted by a sharp surge in fuel prices. Most of the UVs run on diesel where the price hike has been sharper to petrol.

In the first half (H1) of the financial year 2019, UVs have grown by just 5.4 per cent compared to 6.8 per cent growth in cars and 14.5 per cent growth in vans. In the comparable period of FY18, SUV had surged 18 per cent while cars and vans had grown at 6.6 and 2.5 per cent, respectively. SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) are the two sub-segments of UVs. The emergence of more affordable compact SUVs in recent years helped expand the total UV market.| Automobile News

A total of 1.16 million cars have been sold in the domestic market during H1. The volume of UVs, the second biggest sub-segment of the PV market, stood at 464,419 units. A total of 110,389 vans were sold in the same period.

“When fuel prices rise the SUVs are impacted. People were upgrading from hatches to compact SUV but these buyers now realise that fuel price is an issue. Compact SUV segment is seeing a muted growth now,” said Mayank Pareek, president of passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors.

Petrol price has climbed more than 18 per cent since January this year to Rs 82.72 per litre in the capital. However, the price increase in diesel has been steeper at 26 per cent to Rs 75.38 litre. About 84 per cent of the current UV sales are in diesel variants and therefore the impact on driving cost of these vehicles is higher than the petrol run cars. In cars, only 23 per cent of sales are in diesel variants.

| Business Standard |

Petrol prices see another cut: Here's what you will pay in top cities today

This is the tenth consecutive cut in petrol prices. Diesel prices have also been cut consecutively, barring a day when its prices remain unchanged

Fuel prices, for the tenth consecutive day, was marginally lowered on Friday. As per prices announced by largest retailer Indian Oil Corp (IOC), petrol prices fell around 21 paise in the four metro cities, while diesel prices were down by around 15 paise.

In Delhi, petrol per litre on Friday cost Rs 77.42, down from 77.63 on Thursday. Similarly, in Mumbai and Kolkata, petrol prices were at Rs 85.24 and Rs 80.07 a litre respectively. In Chennai, petrol fell by 22 paise to Rs 80.37 per litre.

Diesel prices were down by 15 paise in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. In Chennai, its price was down by 16 paise.

On Thursday, petrol prices were reduced by 9 paise, while diesel prices were cut by 7 paise in Delhi.

Even after ten consecutive price cuts, fuel prices continue to remain at high levels following the resumption of daily price changes after a 20-day suspension of the system last month owing to the Karnataka elections.

After 16 consecutive days of hike post the elections, petrol prices had touched the peak of Rs 78.43 per litre in Delhi and Rs 86.24 per litre in Mumbai on 29 May.

Since then, prices have seen a downward revision of Rs 1.01 in Delhi to be priced at Rs 77.42 on Friday.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government was looking into various factors involved in oil prices- the taxes of the Centre and states, the management of exchange rate, global geopolitical triggers - to further bring down the oil prices.

He also said that state owned oil industry was losing Rs 200 billion annually in terms of input credit as petrol and diesel were kept out of the purview of GST. “All the expenditure of the oil industry- refinery, pipeline, exploration, are paying GST (for various transactions). I am not getting back that money, the input credit. So I am making it costly. I am losing Rs 200 billion per annum, only by government companies, in input credit. So it is just a matter of time (before petrol and diesel are brought under GST)”, Pradhan said.

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'Petrol, diesel prices may stay high in immediate future': 10 points

Even as people across India see rising fuel prices burning a hole in their pockets, the price of petrol has touched Rs 85 a litre in Mumbai and Rs 77.17 a litre in Delhi

Petrol and diesel will continue to burn a hole in your pocket as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Kumar Surana has told news agencies that fuel prices might remain high in the immediate future. Petrol prices in the country's financial capital, Mumbai, touched Rs 84.99 a litre on Wednesday, while the fuel's price inched higher to a new record of Rs 77.17 in Delhi. In Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai, diesel was sold at Rs 68.34, Rs 70.89, Rs 72.76, and Rs 72.14 per litre, respectively.

As of Wednesday, one trigger after another had led to the 10th consecutive day of increase in retail selling price of petrol and diesel. As frustrations mounted across the country, Union Law & Justice, Electronics, and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that the Narendra Modi government was working on a long-term plan to tame fuel prices. "Instead of an ad-hoc measure, the government wants to have a long-term view that addresses not only volatility but also takes care of the unnecessary ambiguity arising out of frequent ups and downs," Prasad said.

The government has come under attack from the Opposition as fuel prices have gone up day after day. Former finance minister P Chidambaram claimed that the rates could be reduced by Rs 25 per litre but the government was not doing so. "It is possible to cut up to Rs 25 per litre, but the government will not. They will cheat the people by cutting price by Re 1 or Rs 2 per litre of petrol," he said in a Tweet.

Here are ten top points on rising petrol and diesel prices:

1) Congress protesting in Mumbai today as petrol nears Rs 85 a litre: The Congress targeted the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre over high fuel prices, seeking to know why the petrol and diesel rates have gone up despite a fall in international crude oil prices. The party said it would hold a protest in Mumbai on Thursday over the matter. Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said the residents of the city are paying the highest in the country for petrol and diesel.

Petrol prices in Mumbai touched Rs 84.99 a litre on Wednesday, while diesel was sold at Rs 72.76 per litre.

2) HPCL chief says review taxes on petrol, diesel: HPCL CMD Mukesh Surana on Wednesday said that there is a need to review taxation on petrol and diesel to provide relief to consumers. According to Surana, the solution has to be found while balancing the budgets of oil companies, the consumer, and the government.

3) 'Petrol, diesel prices might stay high in immediate future': In the immediate future, fuel prices might stay high, Surana told news agency ANI. He said that there is an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting scheduled to take place soon from where some triggers might come. "If OPEC countries increase production of oil, that could help fix the perception of high demand and less supply," he said.

Modi has an oil price headache and Saudi Arabia may just make it worse

Saudi Arabia is aiming for $80 to support the valuation of Saudi Aramco before an initial public offering

 

 

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has an oil problem. And it’s set to worsen with Saudi Arabia rooting for the commodity to push through the $80 barrier.

Modi’s government made the most of cheap oil by substituting any fall in prices with taxes that kept retail fuel rates unchanged for consumers and boosted the federal revenue. Now, pressure is mounting to forego some of that windfall as pump prices of gasoline and diesel hit records, likely marring the ruling party’s prospects at the national ballot in 2019.

“There is a strong case for the central government to take another excise duty cut, and ask state governments to reduce value added tax,” Anil Sharma and Ravi Adukia, analysts at Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India Pvt. wrote in a note Tuesday.

Fuel prices have started to pinch as Brent, the benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, hit $80 a barrel last week. It’s still short of its all-time high of $147.50. But cutting local taxes, which account for more than half of the retail gasoline and diesel prices, would stretch government finances at a time when the subsidy burden on kerosene and cooking gas is climbing.

Assuming an average oil price of $70, the fiscal 2019 subsidy would total about 355 billion rupees, or 105 billion rupees higher than budgeted, according to Kotak Institutional Equities. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service estimates that fuel subsidies could total 340-530 billion rupees in fiscal 2019, the highest since fiscal 2015, if Brent crude oil prices average $60-$80 per barrel.

While Saudi Arabia has avoided pinpointing an exact price target for oil, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with development that it is aiming for $80 to support the valuation of Saudi Aramco before an initial public offering.

Read More : Oil Price India 

Excise duty on petrol, diesel cut by Rs 2/L; Govt may suffer Rs 26k-cr loss

This comes at a time when diesel in Delhi scaled an all-time high of Rs 59.14 per litre

economy news: Facing public resentment over the recent spike in fuel prices, the government on Tuesday cut the excise duty on both branded and unbranded petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre from Wednesday. According to sources, the finance ministry was initially reluctant to reduce the duty due to revenue concerns, but relented after discussions with the petroleum ministry on implementing steps to bring down petrol prices to Rs 60-65 a litre.

While this would hit the revenues of the exchequer by Rs 13,000 crore in the second half of the current financial year at a time when the fiscal deficit has already touched 96 per cent of the Budget Estimates, consumers will get relief as the move would reduce the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate by 9 basis points as a first round impact.

“(The) government has reduced the basic excise duty on petrol and diesel (both branded and unbranded) by Rs 2 a litre with effect from October 4, 2017. The revenue loss on account of these reductions will be about Rs 26,000 crore in a full year and Rs 13,000 crore in the remaining part of the current financial year,” the finance ministry announced on Twitter.

This comes at a time when diesel in Delhi scaled an all-time high of Rs 59.14 a litre, while other cities, too, saw a considerable increase in prices. The price of petrol in Delhi was at a two-year high of Rs 70.88 a litre on Tuesday. Currently, taxes constitute the excise duty of Rs 21.48 a litre, 30 per cent of the price of petrol, and Rs 17.33 a litre, 29 per cent, of the price of diesel.|Readmore…

Can't keep changing fuel prices on knee-jerk basis: Pradhan

Said shifting to GST regime will be the only way to have a transparent tax structure on fuel items

Share prices of the three government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) fell on Wednesday on pricing worries, which the government later said were baseless.

Reports suggested the three -- Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) -- might be asked to absorb the recent global hike in crude oil prices. As a result, their share prices fell 6.2%, 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively, on the BSE exchange.

The markets were worried on whether the government was going back to the regulated pricing era. However, after trading hours, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government would not ask state-run companies to absorb the price rise in petrol and diesel and would stay to market-driven pricing.

He added that a shift to the goods and services tax (GST) regime was the only way to have a transparent tax structure on fuel items.

"The government has no business to interfere in the day-to-day affairs of companies. We have linked product prices to the market and will stick to that," said Pradhan. The minister added that global prices would ease very soon.

"A knee-jerk reaction is not required when we are following a formula. We expect prices to come down soon. This increase is mainly because of the cyclones that hit the US, which resulted in a decline of refining capacity by 13% and an increase in diesel prices by 20% and petrol by 18% in the past three months," he added....READ MORE

Daily fuel prices rolled out, but dealers unhappy, shut shop in Karnataka

At least 1000 petrol pumps across 7 districts in Karnataka has shut shop protesting against the move

On a day when state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) launched the daily revision of fuel prices, at least 1000 petrol pumps across seven districts in Karnataka have shut shop protesting against the move.

This comes after fuel dealer associations called off their plan to go for “no purchase” of fuel following intervention from Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “The move will wipe out the entire margins of marginal dealers. While oil marketing companies claim that 95 per cent of retail outlets are automated, only 5 per cent are automated. At least 1000 petrol pumps are shut down in seven districts of Karnataka with no purchase and no sale, while some outlets in Bangalore too have opted to go for no purchase,” said Ranjith Hegde, secretary of Mysore Petroleum Traders Association.|Economy policy

All the major associations had called off their strike after the government assured an increase in dealer commission from July. When asked about this, a senior official from IOC told Business Standard, “The rollout of daily pricing was done smoothly and there is no disruption reported so far.” Pradhan had assured the dealers that the automation of petrol pumps will happen as soon as possible and a committee is set to submit a report on this.

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