OMCs to revise petrol,diesel prices daily from June 16

Mumbai: Petrol and fuel prices will undergo daily revision by state-run oil marketing companies (OMC) from June 16.

 A pilot project of daily revision of oil prices has already been implemented in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Vishakhapatnam, Chandigarh and Puducherry from May 1. "After its successful implementation, public sector oil companies have now decided to start daily revision in retail selling prices of petrol and diesel in the entire country with effect from 16th June, 2017," Indian Oil said. 

At present, the state-run OMCs – Indian oil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) revise retail fuel prices on a fortnightly basis as per global crude oil prices. They operate 90 per cent of the retail outlets in the country.

According to an article in NDTV, Indian Oil said the daily revised oil prices will be more reflective of the current market conditions. The practise will also lead to more transparency in the system as well as pave way for a smoother transportation of products from refinery/depots to the retailers. A lot of developed countries have been practising daily revision of oil prices for a while now.

As per the directives of the Petroleum ministry, the prices are expected to change every day at midnight. Indian Oil said, the three oil companies will “establish an appropriate mechanism” to convey the prices to consumers every day. This will done via publishing of the prices in newspaper on a daily basis, prominent displays of prices at the retail outlets and sending of price-related data/SMS from the centralized locations, mobile apps etc. 

Petrol and diesel prices are currently determined by global crude prices and the value of the rupee against the dollar as India imports bulk of its energy requirement.