Naphtha prices on the domestic commodity exchanges today fell marginally - by Rs 280 a tonne to Rs 27,342 compared with Rs 27,622 last fortnight. | |
| This follows the fall in the price of the Indian crude oil basket by nearly $3 over the last fortnight. Crude oil price quoted at $60 a barrel on the domestic exchanges today. |
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| But the prices of two other free-to-trade commodities rose marginally. While low sulphur heavy stock (LSHS) rose from Rs 15,332.94 a tonne to Rs 15,512.94 a tonne, the price of furnace oil rose from Rs 15,334.83 a tonne to Rs 15,514.83 a tonne. |
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Naphtha is used primarily in the fertiliser, power and petrochemical industries which consume around 95 per cent of the country's production.
RATE CARD
Spot price changes for free to trade commodities | | Date | Naphta | LSHS | Furnace Oil | | Dec 1, 2006 | 26,562.78 | 14,902.94 | 14,904.83 | | Dec 1, 2006 | 27,622.78 | 15,332.94 | 15,334.83 | | Jan 3, 2007 | 27,342.78 | 15,512.94 | 15,514.83 |
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| Both furnace oil and LSHS are primarily used as boiler fuel and for heating. |
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| Sources in the oil refining companies said prices of these commodities typically follow international prices. With the US winter consumption of heating oils reaching its seasonal spike, the prices of these fuels in the domestic market have also risen. |
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| Last fortnight, as the winter holiday season peaked in the US, prices rose sharply by Rs 400 a tonne for both LSHS and furnace oil. Indian prices are determined every fortnight based on the average price obtained over the previous fortnight. |
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| Sources pointed out that oil refining companies try to follow the international pricing on these free-to-trade commodities "since customers can also import these fuels themselves." |
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| There are around 25 such free to trade products such as bitumen, aviation turbine fuel, benzene and lab feed stock which constitute about 20 per cent of the crude oil product basket in India. |
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