Retail prices of auto-fuels may rise by another Rs 3/litre as state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) will likely want to improve their marketing margins amid rising global crude and product prices, analysts feel.
The marketing margin of Rs 1.56 per litre in the ongoing quarter till date is the lowest encountered by OMCs in the last nine quarters and with recent snowstorms impacting refinery operations in the US, the margin will fall further if retail prices are unchanged.
On Friday, retail petrol price in Delhi was at an all-time high of Rs 90.93/litre, rising by about 9% in the last two months. “More hikes are needed to prevent margin from plunging in Mar’21 and being over Rs 2.5/litre from Apr’21,” ICICI Securities said in a recent note, adding that “retail price hikes of Rs 2.9/litre is required for net margin to rise to over Rs 2.5/litre at latest international prices”.
