Oil firms may not keep date with Dec 15 price revision

Another reason for shifting to new dates is that Parliament is usually in recess around these dates. The uproar on the opening day of the Winter Session and the possibility of the issue raising its head again is a reason for avoiding the price revision on December 15. Currently, petrol and diesel prices are revised, if required, on the first and 16th day of each month to bring consumer prices at parity with the average international price in the preceding fortnight.

The first indication of the Oil Ministry moving towards a longer pricing period came when the Government decided against reducing them at the last revision on November 30. That day, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was keen on cutting petrol prices by about 50 paise per litre, but the PM’s counsel for ‘‘a stable pricing system’’ stopped him in his tracks.