00:00More breaking news coming in amid escalating oil rates due to the West Asia tensions.
00:05There's been a big assurance that has come in from the government when it comes to fuel prices.
00:09Government sources have told my colleagues at Business today that there will be no price hike in terms of petrol
00:14and diesel.
00:15There's no price hike being planned despite the high crude prices.
00:19Now, remember crude prices are going to be expected to remain volatile until at least the mid-term elections in
00:24the United States.
00:25And therefore, there's a diplomatic push to keep the homeless fuel flowing open as well.
00:30The government has indicated it may subsidize OMCs if needed, but energy security and Russian crude remain its priority.
00:37The government has also said it may be diversifying crude sources to Iraq and Saudi Arabia
00:41to make up for the supply shortages that have been held, the choke points that have happened around the Iranian
00:47sector.
00:48So that is the good news coming in for consumers like you and me,
00:51with the assurance as of now coming in from sources to my colleagues at Business Today
00:55that there will be no petrol or diesel price hike being planned or in the offing
01:00despite the fact that global crude oil prices remain at a high due to the volatility that's continued in West
01:08Asia.
01:09We expect that volatility, at least market experts expect the crude oil volatility to continue
01:14till at least the US mid-term elections next month.
01:17But as of now, the government has said that it is prioritizing the supply of crude oil to India
01:22and it's looking at diversifying it to other sectors from Iraq or Saudi Arabia
01:26to ensure that the losses suffered through supply shortages through the Iranian sectors get mitigated.
01:38So the government has told business today that there is no petrol or diesel price hike on the cars
01:42despite high crude prices. Crude prices are going to be remaining volatile for a while now,
01:47but there is a sustained diplomatic push coming in from the government to keep the homeless fuel flows open.
01:53But despite that, the government has a plan B that involves diversifying crude sources to Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
01:58The government is also looking at subsidizing OMCs if needed, but the priority remains energy security and Russian crude.
02:06Let me go across to my colleague Chetan Bhutani is joining us from business today.
02:09Chetan, take us through what are the details that are coming in in terms of this assurance which is coming
02:14in from government quarters.
02:19Well, you know, we've been seeing high crude prices and being volatile for a very long time now.
02:23What government sources are telling me that despite the high crude prices hovering about $100 to $150 as per Indian
02:29crude basket,
02:30the government is actually trying to absorb most of the price hikes and would be probably willing to give the
02:36subsidies to the oil marketing companies
02:38rather than pass it on to the consumers. So probably a good news coming in for consumers who don't have
02:43to actually pay high petrol and diesel prices.
02:45But the government will have to later stage subsidize the oil marketing companies because they are facing significant amount of
02:51losses.
02:52Remember, the under-recoveries for diesel stands at about Rs.20 to Rs.25 per litre and for petrol stands
02:57at about Rs.5 to Rs.10 per litre.
02:59So clearly at high crude prices it's bad news for oil marketing companies but yes, the government is actually wanting
03:04to have its energy security as its highest priority
03:09and the government really wants to diversify its crude basket looking probably towards Iraq and Saudi Arabia so that a
03:15balance remains
03:16and the government could actually average down the procurement for crude oil as well.
03:20Alright, thanks a lot Chetan for joining us with those inputs.
03:22Thanks a lot.
