PSU OMCs advance after oil prices correct

Shares of state-run oil marketing companies rose 1.20% to 2.36% on bargain hunting after crude oil prices corrected sharply overnight.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up by 137.52 points, or 0.38% to 36,618.61.

HPCL (up 2.36%), BPCL (up 1.44%) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.20%) advanced.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for November 2019 settlement was up 28 cents to $64.83 a barrel. The contract crashed $4.47 or 6.47% to settle at $64.55 a barrel on Tuesday, 17 September 2019, after Saudi Arabia's energy minister said the Kingdom will restore lost oil production by the end of the month.

Brent crude oil prices surged over $69 on Monday, following an attack on an oil processing plant and nearby oil field operated by Aramco in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Aramco is a Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The strike forced the company to cut its output in half. That took 5.7 million barrels of crude out of daily circulation, or nearly 6% of worldwide consumption.

Following the spike in oil prices, Indian public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) tumbled sharply in the past two days.

BPCL slumped 9.83% in two sessions to Rs 368.70 on 17 September 2019 from Rs 408.90 on 13 September 2019.

HPCL declined 9.21% in two sessions to Rs 246.05 on 17 September 2019 from Rs 271 on 13 September 2019.

IOCL slipped 3.73% in two sessions to Rs 125.20 on 17 September 2019 from Rs 130.05 on 13 September 2019.

The fall was triggered by worries that higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.

Post Saudi attack, India is reportedly in talks with Russia to up crude supply. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Russian energy giant Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin met on Tuesday in New Delhi to discuss the global supply situation as well as the ongoing energy cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has assured Indian refiners that all supply commitments will be made but refiners want to be prepared for any contingency as well as have a more diversified supply base for future, media reports suggested.

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