Fuel retail has turned profitable again for oil marketing companies as domestic prices stay frozen while international rates have softened.
Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum are estimated to have made an average margin of ₹1.2 per litre on the retail sale of petrol and diesel in the current quarter so far compared to a loss of ₹3 per litre in the October-December quarter and a loss of ₹8.9 per litre in the April-December period, according to ICICI Securities. In the third week of February, the average marketing margin on petrol and diesel is estimated to be ₹3.4 per litre.
