July local natural gas price hits $6.75/MMBtu ceiling
price hit its ceiling of $6.75 per mmBtu in July, fuelled by a rise in global
crude oil prices
in June, to which it is linked.
Crude prices surged in June after the
Israel-Iran conflict
stoked fears of supply disruption. It however erased all the gains following a ceasefire last week between the two countries.
The government revises the
Administered Price Mechanism
(APM) rate every month based on the average crude price of the preceding month. The price is set at 10% of the Indian crude basket, subject to a ceiling of $6.75 per mmBtu.
The gas price for July came to $6.89 per mmBtu based on the crude-linked formula but will be capped at $6.75, according to a notification by the oil ministry.
This price is applicable to gas produced by state-run
Oil and Natural Gas Corp
(ONGC) and
Oil India
. Higher prices are likely to boost earnings of oil producers while eating into the margins of
city gas distributors
and other users of domestic gas. -Our Bureau
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