After falling for three straight sessions, shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) are once again in focus, as petrol and diesel prices were hiked again, with petrol rate in New Delhi today rising 87 paise to Rs 98.64 per litre and diesel 91 paise to Rs 91.58. The move is marginally positive for oil marketing companies (OMCs), which were making losses of about Rs 750 crore daily on auto fuel marketing.  

Nomura in an earlier note suggested a 25 per cent litre hike in auto fuel prices was required for to breakeven. This is after incorporating a nationwide Rs 3-per-litre hike announced by the government last Friday. Systematix had on Monday said the Rs 3 per litre hike in fuel prices was, almost certainly, the beginning of a series of hikes, not the end of one. 

It noted that the initial adjustment of Rs 3 per litre covered only 7-8 per cent of the cumulative under-recoveries from three months of selling fuel at unchanged prices, a burden estimated at Rs 1.7–1.8 lakh crore. "Several more rounds of hikes will be needed simply to recover past losses, and this is against the backdrop of crude potentially remaining anchored above $100 per barrel. Under these conditions, WPI inflation crossing the 10 per cent mark is not a tail risk; it is a plausible and near-term base case," it noted.

Among the three OMCs, BPCL was seen best-placed to weather the prevailing situation, while HPCL is seen as the most vulnerable.  

After the latest fuel price hike, Kolkata recorded the sharpest jump among the metros, with petrol rising by 96 paise to Rs 109.70 per litre and diesel climbing 94 paise to Rs 96.07. In Chennai, petrol is now Rs 104.49 per litre after an 82-paise increase, with diesel up 86 paise to Rs 96.11. Every major metro recorded noticeable increases in both petrol and diesel in Monday's revision.

To recall, the government had also cut the excise duty cut of Rs 10 per litre on petrol/diesel on March 27. 

Nomura, meanwhile, had noted that despite a sharp dip in fuel marketing margins at Rs 25 per litre and highest-ever LPG loss at Rs 680 per cylinder, OMC stocks were trading at a premium to the valuations seen during the early period of the Russia-Ukraine war. "The valuation premium for HPCL is the highest at 77 per cent, despite HPCL being the most impacted from marketing losses. IOC may be best placed to weather current situation due to higher refining exposure and upcoming capacities," it noted.