Diesel under-recovery for August second-half rises sharply

The under-recovery, or revenue loss, applicable on diesel for the second fortnight effective Aug 16 has been pegged sharply upwards at Rs.10.22 per litre, the petroleum ministry said Friday.

This compares to the under-recovery of Rs.9.29 per litre during the first fortnight of August 2013.

"In the case of PDS kerosene and domestic LPG, under-recoveries for the month of August 2013 remains the same at Rs.33.54 per litre and Rs.412 per cylinder, respectively, since it is computed on monthly basis on these products," the ministry said in a statement here.

"OMCs (oil marketing companies), effective 16 Aug 2013, are incurring combined daily under-recovery of about Rs.389 crore on the sale of diesel, PDS Kerosene and domestic LPG. This is substantially higher than daily under-recovery of Rs.379 crore for the previous fortnight effective 1.8.2013," the statement added.

The Indian basket crude oil price per barrel as on the last trading day of Aug 15 stood at $108.59, or Rs.6,680.46 at the exchange rate of Rs.61.52 to a US dollar per barrel. According to the ministry, this reflected mainly "the sharp price increase in dollar terms and helped on by marginal rupee depreciation".

OMCs have been authorised by the government to increase the retail selling price of diesel within a small range every month.