New Delhi, Sep 26
Healthy marketing margins on auto fuels could spur price reductions of Rs 2-3 per litre in petrol and diesel prices in the country if crude prices remain stable, leading rating agency ICRA said on Thursday.
The marketing margins on retail sales of auto fuels for the Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) have improved in recent weeks with the reduction in crude prices.
The rating agency anticipates that there is headroom for the downward revision of retail fuel prices if crude prices remain stable at current levels. The outlook for the refining and marketing sector remains stable.
"ICRA estimates that the OMCs' net realisation was higher by Rs 15/litre for petrol and Rs 12/litre for diesel compared to international product prices in September 2024 (till September 17)," said Girishkumar Kadam, SVP and Group Head - Corporate Ratings, ICRA.
Another leading rating agency CLSA said on Wednesday that petrol and diesel prices may be reduced after October 5.
According to ICRA, the retail selling price (RSPs) of these fuels have been unchanged since March 2024 (Rs 2/litre was reduced on petrol and diesel on March 15) and there appears to be headroom for their downward revision by Rs 2-3/litre, if crude prices remain stable, he added.
Crude prices have witnessed a sharp decline in the last few months, primarily due to weak global economic growth and high US production and the OPEC+ has pushed the rollback of its production cuts by two months to combat the declining prices.
The impact is mainly on account of weak demand from China due to rising electric vehicle (EV) sales, muted industry demand and real estate downturn.