Oil marketers take pause after reforms-inspired dream run

With refining margins at seven-month lows and demand remaining soft, concerns are rising

Oil marketing companies (OMCs) saw a fabulous rally on the bourses, after the government kick-started fuel price reforms about three years ago. Declining crude oil prices also rained benefits. While Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has been the largest gainer among all, rising almost 440 per cent in past three years, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), too, have seen their stocks triple in the same period. All of them hit their all-time highs in February before falling. While the multi-month rally seemed justified, concerns surrounding business fundamentals have sparked the recent fall. 

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