HPCL, BPCL tank over 4% after crude oil prices rise for second straight day

On Monday, both, HPCL and BPCL, had gained 13 per cent each in the intra-day session after oil prices had slumped to a 20-year low following an all-out oil war led by Saudi Arabia.

Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs), including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), skid up to 4 per cent on the BSE after oil prices rose for the second straight day on Wednesday. 

At 9:43 am, Brent Crude Futures were at $38.45 per barrel-mark, up 3.3 per cent, while the US WTI was at $35.26/bbl, up 2.62 per cent. This comes after an over 8 per cent rise in the oil prices on Tuesday. Prices inched higher on hopes of a supply cut by US producers. 

Occidental Petroleum on Tuesday joined a growing list of hard-pressed North American oil producers slashing spending and drilling to support the low crude oil prices. 

Russian oil minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday he did not rule out joint measures with OPEC to stabilize the market, adding that the next OPEC+ meeting was planned for May-June, Reuters reported. 

“Expectations that US shale oil producers will need to trim output helped improve the market sentiment,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities, reported news agency Reuters.

Individually, HPCL hit a low of Rs 203.80, down 4.4 per cent, on the BSE. About 1.1 million shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report. BPCL and Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOCL), on the other hand, declined 4.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent to Rs 405.10 and Rs 96.8, respectively.  

On Monday, both, HPCL and BPCL, had gained 13 per cent each in the intra-day session after oil prices had slumped to 20-year low following an all-out oil war led by Saudi Arabia. The Gulf country had announced its biggest cut in its prices in the last 20 years after a failure by cartel OPEC and its allies to clinch a deal to cut production, Bloomberg News reported.

At 10:02 am, HPCL was trading at Rs 205.75, down 2.5 per cent, while BPCL and IOCL were at Rs 407.5 and Rs 96.55, down 3.7 per cent and 2.9 perr cent, respectively. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 15 points, or 0.04 per cent, lower at 35,620.23 level.