HPCL and BPCL down in the red

OMCs HPCL and BPCL are down in the red, figuring amongst the top losers on the bourses. HPCL is down 5% at Rs.447 and BPCL is down over 3.5% at Rs.621 levels. IOC is also down 2% at Rs.1900.

Yesterday, the much awaited OPEC meet finally bore fruit and the production cut finally got announced.  OPEC agreed on its first oil output reduction since 2008 – of 1.2 million barrels per day, after de-facto leader Saudi Arabia accepted a big hit and dropped a demand that arch-rival Iran also slash output. The deal also included the group's first coordinated action with non-OPEC member Russia in 15 years.

Following the announcements, the price for Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped more than 12 percent from below $50 on Wednesday to $52.31 per barrel. It also triggered frenzied trading, with Brent futures trading volumes for February and March expiry hitting record volumes.

This is expected to lead to a price rise and naturally, that means it will once again start putting pressure on margins for OMCs if price rise continues.