For the first time in seven months, state-run fuel retailers are making losses on selling diesel and together with negative returns on petrol, LPG and kerosene, the companies may lose Rs 38,700 crore in revenues this year.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum from today are selling diesel at a loss of Rs 2.96 a litre, an industry official said.
In the first half of this month, they were barely breaking even on diesel, the most consumed auto fuel in India.
The firming international crude oil prices, which are ruling at seven-month high of $71 per barrel, have widened losses on petrol to Rs 6.08 per litre from Rs 3.68 a litre in the first half of June.
"The three are currently losing Rs 135 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene," he said.
The government has been mulling decontrolling petrol and diesel prices for couple of months now but may be fast losing the window as the move would now result in steep rise in fuel prices. Freeing of fuel prices was idle when crude had fallen to below $40 a barrel earlier this year.
The three firms are losing Rs 69.49 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder and Rs 12.65 on every litre of kerosene, he said.
The state-run firms were till last month selling diesel at Rs 0.32 a litre profit which helped them partly neutralise the losses on sale of petrol, domestic LPG and kerosene.
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