Oil companies may increase petrol prices by 2.10-2.13 a litr
State-owned oil companies meet on the first and sixteenth working day of every month to revise rates of petrol, and weakening rupee will most likely force them to announce a further increase in petrol prices in their meeting on Monday.
Experts are expecting oil companies to increase petrol prices by Rs 2.10-2.13 per litre, though upcoming Assembly Elections in five states may also the government to leave the petrol prices untouched for the time being.
Domestic petrol prices are benchmarked against gasoline's international price, which hasn't jumped drastically over the last fifteen days, but the Indian rupee slipped considerably against the US dollar.
Speaking on the topic, an oil company official said, "While international price of gasoline are more or less at the same level, the rupee has depreciated to about Rs 53 to a US dollar."
Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp petrol pumps in Delhi are selling petrol at Rs 65.64 per litre and at Rs 65.65 per litre respectively.
During their previous petrol prices review on 15/16th of December oil companies had decided not to increase the prices as they were f the view that Reserve Bank of India's intervention might arrest rupee's falling value.
