Share price of oil and gas companies including GAIL India Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited surged on Friday, March 5, after global oil prices jumped more than $1 a barrel, hitting their highest levels in almost 14 months. This came after OPEC and its allies agreed not to increase the supply in April as they await a more substantial recovery in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, GAIL India surged over two per cent on the BSE. It opened at Rs 144.05, touching an intra day of Rs 149.95 and an intra day low of Rs 144.05, so far. Shares of ONGC opened on the BSE at Rs 116.25, touching an intra day high of Rs 118.20 and an intra day low of Rs 113.90, so far.
Due to the rally in global crude oil price, petrol and diesel rates in the country have also registered an upswing since January 6, 2021. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the OPEC+ decision to continue with the output cuts would hurt consumers in oil buying nations. The rise in oil prices has also posed economical challenges in India, where heavily-taxed retail fuel prices have touched fresh record highs in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for May rose to as high as $68 a barrel on Friday, a level which has not been achieved since January 8, 2020. The contract was up $1.09, or 1.6 per cent, to $67.83 a barrel at 0730 GMT, and was on track for a near three per cent gain in the week.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.5 per cent, to $64.76 per barrel after hitting a high of $64.94 earlier in the session.
As of 2:15 pm, ONGC traded 1.15 per cent higher at Rs 114.05 on the BSE, while GAIL India was up 1.6 per cent at Rs 146.90.
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