Buying diesel from private retailers such as Essar Oil and Reliance Industries may cost up to Rs 2 a litre more from next month.
Private sector oil retailers fear further widening of differential on diesel between them and public sector firms in November. They expect the international product and crude oil prices to further firm up along with the weakening rupee and PSUs firms continuing to sell at artificially controlled prices.
PSU retail rates
At present, diesel from PSU retail outlets is sold at Rs 40.91 a litre (in Delhi), and those from private retailers is higher by Rs 7 a litre in most of the States.
Petrol, however, is being sold at par with the PSUs in most States or at a differential of Re 1 a litre. “Though the differential in petrol price is insignificant, the volumes are not very high. Diesel consumption is four-five times higher,” a private sector retailer said.
Simply put, diesel accounts for 76-78 per cent of the retail volumes. “While petrol sales have picked up, there is a drop in diesel sales,” a retailer said.
Outlets
Essar Oil at present has 1,391 operational outlets including 249 under construction. Reliance has about 700 operating outlets.
The public sector retailers – Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation – are free to take suitable decisions on pricing of petrol on the basis of international oil prices, market conditions and commercial considerations. However, the companies are still making revisions in a guarded manner, as there is an informal Government control.
The Government continues to modulate the retail selling prices of diesel, kerosene sold under public distribution system, and domestic LPG. As a result, these three products are sold below the required market price, thereby continuing to lose heavily.