HPCL, BPCL, IOC soar up to 5% in trade as oil prices slip to 2-week low

A fall in oil prices is beneficial to OMCs as their costs for acquiring crude oil for refining drop

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) -- jumped up to 5.1 per cent in Tuesday's intraday trade on the BSE. The rally came after Brent crude oil futures fell over 3 per cent, near its two-week low today. 

A fall in oil prices is beneficial for OMCs as their costs for acquiring crude oil for refining drop. This can lead to lower operational costs for OMCs.

At around 12:25 PM, HPCL shares were up 5.04 per cent, BPCL was up 2.16 per cent and IOC was up 1.15 per cent. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was down 0.23 per cent at 81,786.44 at around the same time. 

The Brent crude oil futures, last seen, were down 3.6 per cent and held the $74 per bbl-mark. The prices were almost down $5 so far this week, nearly wiping out cumulative gains made in the seven sessions up to last Friday when investors were concerned about supply risks as Israel planned to retaliate against a missile attack from Iran.

On Monday, Brent crude oil futures settled 2 per cent lower, it is almost down $5 so far this week.

The weakness in oil prices came after a media report suggested Israel is willing not to strike Iranian oil targets, which eased fears of a supply disruption. The statement came amid expectations that Israel would strike in retaliation for Iran's missile attack on Israel on October 1.

In another report, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) on Monday slashed its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024. 

Opec also lowered its global oil demand growth projection for next year to 1.64 million bpd from 1.74 million bpd.

The Opec is a group of oil-producing countries that coordinate their petroleum policies to manage oil production and prices. It was founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. 

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate futures fell $2.72, or 3.7 per cent, to $71.11 per barrel. The contract fell as low as $70.75, its weakest since Oct. 3.