BPCL, HPCL, IOC slide as government rules out diesel price hike

MUMBAI: Shares of state-run oil marketing companies fell for the second day today dropping by up to 3 per cent after the government ruled out any hike in rates of diesel, domestic gas ( LPG) and kerosene as of now.

Bharat Petroleum Corp ( BPCL) settled 2.38 per cent lower at Rs 700.15, while IOC was down 1.77 per cent at Rs 260.80. Hindustan Petroleum Corp ( HPCL) lost 0.69 per cent to Rs 295 on the BSE.

"BPCL, HPCL continued to shed on the announcement made yesterday that price hike of diesel, kerosene and LPG are unlikely," Sharmila Joshi Head Equity Fairwealth Securities said.

Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy had yesterday said, "We are not considering hiking prices of diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene. It is out of question right now."

Last week, petrol price was hiked by Rs 7.54 per litre -- the steepest hike in petrol price ever.

Meanwhile, in the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended flat at 16,438.58, up 21.74 points.