Petrol and diesel prices today: Fuel prices remained steady on Friday, 26 June, across Indian cities even though oil prices edged lower amid easing supply concerns. Brent crude futures declined 0.25% by 19 cents to settle at $75.07 a barrel as of 0055 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate plunged 0.18%, by 13 cents to trade at $71.79 a barrel, Reuters reported.
On Thursday, oil prices rebounded for the first time in five days after a cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz which renewed concerns over safe passage of vessels through the crucial waterway. Crude shipments through the Strait registered record increase this week since the onset of West Asia conflict in February after a ceasefire deal reopened the waterway.
The global benchmark briefly erased all of its wartime gains on 25 June following uptick in transits of oil vessels through the Persian Gulf. Ever since US and Iran signaled progress toward a lasting agreement to end the war, millions of oil barrels were added to the global market. In the wake of optimism over peace deal, oil futures rapidly declined recently and are still on track for a third weekly loss, Bloomberg reported.
Despite significant turbulence in the global market, retail price of petrol and diesel in India continue to mirror those that existed after last revision of 25 May. Last month, state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) hiked fuel prices. After multiple revisions, petrol and diesel prices witnessed cumulative increase of about ₹7.50 and ₹7.60 per litre in petrol and diesel prices, respectively.
According to Wall Street Journal, the vessel was struck in an Iranian attack. However, a White House official said it was too soon to confirm who carried out the strike.
Due to this fresh incident of cargo attack, several commercial ships took a u-turn while attempting to transit Hormuz. Amid fresh doubts over normalization of flows through the strait, the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations’ global shipping regulator, on Thursday suspended its evacuation operations in the strait, Bloomberg reported.
Security of vessels passing outside designated Hormuz routes is not guaranteed, says Iran
Two key exit routes through Hormuz have emerged with one being near Iran and the other close to Oman’s coastline which is protected by the US. On “safe-passage guarantees", Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said that any transit happening in routes outside its framework would not be protected.
BOK Financial Securities Inc senior vice president for trading Dennis Kissler said the attack caused a “short-covering move,” adding, “If you add in a market that has been extremely oversold, prices are more likely to move into a ‘back and fill’ correction before any new selling emerges," Bloomberg reported.
