petrol price hike as retail losses increase

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) is considering a further increase in petrol prices as it struggles to cut down on retailing losses.

Talking to CNBC-TV18, B Mukherjee, director of finance at HPCL, he says, "We are losing about Rs 1.50 per litre. To cover up this loss, since, there are sales taxes too that need to be taken into account, there needs to be a price hike to the tune of Rs 1.82 per litre. And, that is the position of OMCs (oil marketing companies)."

The oil refining and marketing firm, which posted a quarterly loss of Rs 33.6 billion on Tuesday, is in talks with other retailers on the issue and a price increase could come as soon as within the next two weeks.

The company also said it is looking to buy overseas oil and gas assets in Australia and Africa, and may partner with other firms in that effort, he said, without giving more detail. HPCL owns stakes in three exploration blocks in Australia and Egypt.

Raising the petrol price by Rs 1.82 per litre would be an increase of 2.7%from the current Delhi price.

"It may happen. We will see," he replied, when asked if the increase was likely within the next two weeks.

HPCL and its fellow state oil product sellers Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corp last raised petrol prices by nearly 5% in September to ease their subsidy burdens, but added to stubbornly high inflation in Asia's third-largest economy.

The three state giants tend to move their prices in tandem.

India's headline inflation in September stood at 9.72% and has topped 9% for nearly a year, prompting the RBI to lift its policy lending rate last month for the 13th time since March 2010.

India granted autonomy to state-run firms last year to fix retail prices for petrol, but the government continues to control prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene. The government last allowed a diesel price increase in June.

Last week, BPCL posted a loss of Rs 32.3 billion and said results had been adversely affected by high crude oil and product prices that did not fully pass that cost on to consumers.

Meanwhile, a falling rupee, the Indian currency is down 11% against the dollar since a late July peak, adds to the imported oil bill for India's three big state oil marketers.

HPCL's net loss for the July-September quarter compared with net profit of 20.9 billion a year earlier. Net sales rose to Rs 370.3 billion, from 307.1 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Gross under-recoveries for the quarter nearly doubled to 46.86 billion rupees, from Rs 24.24 billion a year ago, Mukherjee said.

Gross refining margins, a key measure of profitability, fell to USD 1.92 per barrel for the quarter, from USD 2.66 a barrel in the same quarter last year.

Shares in HPCL, valued by the market at USD 2.3 billion, ended 0.4% higher, outperforming a broader market that ended 1.3% lower. The stock has dropped 14.6% in the year to date, in line with the main stock index.

Up to 1,000 feared dead as 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits Turkey

Ankara:  An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude rocked eastern Turkey Sunday, with a seimological institute estimating up to 1,000 people could lie dead under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings.

The powerful quake, the strongest to hit the country in years, and its aftershocks struck Van, a large eastern city populated mainly by Kurds.

"500 to 1,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Professor Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told a news conference.

Earlier reports did not speak of casualties but many were feared trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings and officials warned they were struggling to assess the extent of the damage.

At least 50 people were taken to hospital in Van, Anatolia news agency said.

"There is serious human and material loss," said a brief statement from the the national disaster body which is based in the prime minister's office.

"Many multi-floor buildings, hotels and a dormitory were collapsed," said Veysel Keser, a local official from Van.

"We can hear voices from the collapsed buildings," he said.

Television footage showed collapsed buildings and vehicles, with residents rushing in panic in the streets.

"People are panicked. The telecommunication services have collapsed. We cannot reach anybody," Van Mayor Bekir Kaya told the NTV television in an initial assessment.

The government is due to send satellite phones to the region, according to media reports. The army will also send search and rescue teams to the area.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.3 magnitude and said that an aftershock was of 5.6 magnitude had also been registered. The epicentre of the aftershock, which occurred at 1056 GMT, was located 19 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Van, the institute added.

The depth of the initial quake was 7.2 kilometers (4.5 miles), according to the US seismologists. The depth of the aftershock was 20 kilometers, they added.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck around 1041 GMT, was at Tabanli in Van province, the Kandilli institute said.

The Turkish institute said that there were two aftershocks which in particular impacted on Ilikaynak and Gedikbulak villages.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled his official programme and was due to visit the quake region on Sunday, said NTV.

The city airport received damage from the quake, reported the Anatolia news agency but added it did not disrupt the air traffic, quoting civilian airflight authorities.

Van, a city of 380,000 inhabitants mostly Kurds, is located more than 1,200 kilometres from the capital Ankara.

The quake was also felt over the border in northwest Iran, causing some panic in major cities, Iranian media reported, but without any mention of casualties or damage.

The tremors were strong enough to cause 'scenes of panic among the population of the cities,' according to several Iranian media.

Turkey is earthquake-prone due to being crossed by several fault lines.

In 1999, two strong quakes in the heavily-populated and industrialised regions of northwest Turkey left some 20,000 dead.

And a powerful earthquake in the town of Caldiran in Van province killed 3,840 people in 1976

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/up-to-1-000-feared-dead-as-7-3-magnitude-earthquake-hits-turkey-143619?pfrom=home-lateststories&cp

Chopper row resolved: Indian Army helicopter and crew back in Kargil

New Delhi:  Just hours after four Indian Army personnel, onboard an Army helicopter, were detained in Pakistan after the chopper entered their airspace, reportedly due to bad weather, the issue has been resolved. Army sources say the chopper with the crew has returned to Kargil. (Read: India tells Pakistan: We appreciate speedy return of officers, helicopter)

The row was reportedly settled after the Director General of Military Operations on both sides spoke to each other.

Army sources say the pilots will be questioned and the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices of the chopper will be analysed for the exact location and time of the incident.

The Cheetah helicopter of the Army Aviation, which was flying from Leh to Bhimbat, was first reported to have gone missing and was then escorted down by Pakistani forces. Three Indian officers, including the pilot and co-pilot, and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) onboard were taken into custody.

The airspace violation happened at 1 pm PST in Olding in the Kargil sector in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sources say that the chopper strayed 20 kilometres inside the Pakistani territory, as claimed by the authorities there.

"The chopper strayed deep inside our territory. The crew is safe and investigations are on", General Athar Abbas, Spokesman of the Pakistan Military had said.

The Army, meanwhile, has said that the chopper's landing in Pakistan was not a deliberate intrusion.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/chopper-row-resolved-indian-army-helicopter-back-in-kargil-143595?pfrom=home-lateststories&cp

Corrupt forces, politics behind shoe attack

Speaking after he was attacked on Tuesday, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said that he appealed to the public to not fall into a political plot. He also said that the people should join the anti-corruption movement as it was a Gold' class='bD_15arlink' title='gold price'>golden opportunity to rid the country of the menace.

"I just want to appeal to the public to not fall into any political plot and to join hands with us in this moment. This is a golden opportunity to get rid of corruption from our country," Kejriwal said.

The attacker, who tried to throw a shoe at Kejriwal, has been identified as Jitendra Pathak, from Jalon, Uttar Pradesh. He accused Kejriwal of misleading people on the issue of corruption. On this allegation, Kejriwal said that some of the youth were being misguided, adding that he was ready to answer any questions the people might have.

"All I have to say is that some of the youth are misguided. We can sort the situations by talking to them. If they have questions, we are willing to answer them. In the Hisar campaign we answered many questions related to the issue. Violence is not an answer to any issue," he said.

He also blamed political motives and influence for the attack on Prashant Bhushan and himself, saying that the corrupt are against them.

He said, "Corrupt forces are against us. Attack on Prashant Bhushan was not because of his comments on Kashmir. This is a plot. There is some political influence involved. People are criticising our strategy in Hisar. if the strategy was wrong then the people of Hisar would not have implemented it."

Kejriwal refused to say whether Team Anna was breaking up after news of two members leaving the group came to the fore. He said that the core committee will take a decision on the matter.

He was attacked and heckled on Tuesday as he was preparing for a meeting in Lucknow. The attempted attack came a day after the drubbing Congress party got in Hisar by-poll and a few days after the attack on Prashant Bhushan and Anna's supporters.

Rupee to retreat from 1-wk low; shares watched

The rupee should pull back on Wednesday from the one-week low reached in the previous session, supported by expectations for foreign fund inflows and the dollar's losses overseas.

* Asian shares were higher, but gains were capped by a cut to Spain's sovereign credit rating from Moody's Investors Service that kept investors' risk appetite in check.

* At 0230 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was up 0.7% while the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were 0.3% higher, suggesting a higher start to the local market.

* The rupee is affected by foreign fund flows into and out of the domestic sharemarket which will be watched for cues during the day.

* Traders forecast the rupee to open around 49.15 per dollar and move in a 49.10 to 49.40 range. It had ended 0.7% weaker on Tuesday at 49.29/30, after dropping to 49.36, its weakest since Oct. 12.

* The euro inched lower on Wednesday after Moody's cut Spain's government debt rating by two notches, giving up some gains made on a report that France and Germany have reached a deal to bolster the euro zone's bailout fund.

* The euro was trading at USD 1.3763, compared with USD 1.3699 when the rupee closed on Tuesday. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was at 77.023 points, sharply below 77.314 on Tuesday.