Oil price to change fortnightly

Mumbai, Jul 10: To reflect changes in the global oil market in the free pricing regime, the State-owned oil firms may prefer to reorganize petrol prices every fortnight.

Government freed petrol prices in Jun 2010, which resulted in a Rs 3.50 per litre hike in rates in Delhi but modalities of subsequent retail price adjustments were left to the industry to deliberate and decide.

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum on Thursday, Jul 8 began consultations on modalities like the frequency or interval at which prices will be revised and if the PSUs should have uniform rate that would change on same date.

Private firms Reliance Industries, Essar Oil and Royal Dutch/Shell too are being consulted in the exercise.

most retailers favour fortnightly revisions in retail rates to reflect changes in cost of raw material (crude oil).

But IOC, the nation's largest oil firm was not agree with the rest. IOC wanted rates not to be revised too often.

Those in favour of a 15-day cycle for price adjustment argue that oil firms already have a mechanism of calculating the desired fuel prices on 1st and 16th of every month. Also, rates of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which was freed from Government control in 2002, change with cost every fortnight.

But IOC claimed that a fixed date for revision may lead to hoarding at pump end.

Modalities are likely to be finalized by the second week on Jul 2010 and pump rates would be revised accordingly.

OneIndia News