Fuel price revision: IOC clarifies on erroneous price revision, cuts prices by 1 paisa after “glitch”
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer, today committed a faux pas on fuel price revision. The company slashed petrol and diesel prices by 60 paise and 56 paise, respectively, at 6 am in the morning in line with the daily routine of informing price revision, but issued a clarification 5 hours later stating a “technical glitch” had led to erroneous revision. “There was a technical glitch in posting the selling prices of petrol and diesel on our website today. The selling prices of petrol and diesel w.e.f 30th May 2018 have been rectified on our website. Today, there is a minor reduction in fuel prices,” IOC said in a statement. Petrol and diesel prices post IOC’s correction across the four metros including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai have been reduced by 1 paise per litre. A company spokesperson clarified IOC had communicated the correct price revision to dealers despite the error in posting the prices on its website. Post the revision, petrol prices stood at Rs 78.42 per litre in Delhi. Prices in Kolkata Mumbai and Chennai were Rs 81.05, Rs 86.23 and Rs 81.42 per litre respectively, a decrease of one paise overTuesday’s prices. Diesel price in Delhi on Wednesday post revision stood at Rs 69.30 per litre. Prices in Kolkata Mumbai and Chennai were at Rs 71.85 per litre, Rs 73.78 and Rs 73.17 per litre respectively, a decrease of one paise over Tuesday’s prices. Domestic retail prices of petrol and diesel had been rising for the past 16 days following the 19-day price freeze initiated by OMCs before Karnataka polls. IOC had between 14 May and 29 May increased petrol prices by Rs 3.80 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 3.38 per litre in the national capital. Similar price hikes were implemented in other cities across the nation fuelling nation-wide protests and a call for excise duty cut. Mark Messier Jersey
Brazil’s president mulls scrapping Petrobras market-based fuel pricing -source
Brazil’s President Michel Temer may scrap a market-based pricing mechanism used by state-run oil firm Petrobras and revert to selling all fuel below costs after a trucking strike that almost paralyzed the nation, a government source told Reuters on Tuesday. Talk of temporarily lowering prices on just diesel to end the havoc the nine-day strike brought on Latin America’s largest economy sent Petrobras shares plunging 15 percent on Monday. Truckers are protesting a 50 percent increase in diesel prices under the two-year-old Petrobras policy of almost daily adjustments following international prices. The source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the pricing policy worked well when oil prices held steady for years at $40-50 a barrel, and the Brazilian currency remained stable against the dollar. But oil has recently surged to $70-80 a barrel boosted by plummeting Venezuelan production, strong global demand and looming U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile Brazil’s currency has weakened 11 percent this year on political uncertainty. “Without that (stability), we have a problem. We need to study alternatives,” the official said. He said talks on the issue have already begun between the government and Petrobras. A spokeswoman for Petrobras chief executive officer Pedro Parente declined to comment. Temer acknowledged in a television interview on Tuesday that he was open to reviewing the pricing policy. “Petrobras has recovered in these two years. It had been in a disastrous situation for a long time, and we did not want to change the company’s policy,” Temer told government broadcaster TV Brasil. “We can re-examine the policy, though with great care.” On Sunday, moving to settle the truckers strike, Temer announced tax cuts and subsidies to reduce domestic diesel prices by 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, freezing them at that level for 60 days. The prospect of government interference in Petrobras pricing policy sent its share prices plummeting on Monday. That slide added to losses a week earlier that reduced the stock price by nearly one third, though shares rebounded 14 percent on Tuesday to close at 19.30 reais. The government official said initial talks had begun between Mines and Energy Minister Moreira Franco and Parente, architect of the company’s recovery. Parente has resisted change, but has appreciated the need for greater predictability in price adjustments, the official said. Dustin Brown Womens Jersey
Fuel price hike: Farmers protesting diesel rates hand over tractor keys to officials
Thousands of farmers drove down to the office of the local authorities in Samrala, Ludhiana to hand over the keys of their tractors as part of a unique protest against the rising diesel prices. Organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), the protesters alleged apathy on the part of the central government claiming that the incessant fuel price hikes were only adding to the woes of the debt-ridden farmers. “The price of diesel, which is an important input cost of cultivation, has risen so sharply that it has gone out of the reach of the farmers,” BKU (Rajewal) chief Balbir Singh Rajewal said. “The increase in the diesel prices has come at a time when paddy sowing is going to start next month. As per rough estimates, the rise in the fuel rates will put an additional burden of Rs 400-600 per hour for ploughing operations,” he claimed. The livid farmers blamed the high fuel prices for agricultural activities getting severely affected. “It has become unviable to carry out farming activities because of the fuel price hikes. We have come here on our tractors to hand over the keys to the district administration as we cannot afford to use them,” a farmer lamented. As hundreds of tractors converged on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road in Samrala, the commuters had a harrowing time, while the administration scrambled to manage the massive traffic snarl. Corey Davis Authentic Jersey