NEW DELHI : With oil prices jumping by nearly 12% following attacks on two Saudi Arabian plants that slashed output in the world's top producer by half, petrol and diesel prices are likely to increase in India in the next few days.

A litre of petrol was selling at ₹71.89 in Delhi, ₹77.57 in Mumbai, ₹74.70 in Chennai, ₹74.62 in Kolkata. Diesel was selling at ₹65.28 a litre in Delhi, ₹68.46 in Mumbai, ₹68.99 in Chennai and ₹67.69 in Kolkata.

Kotak Institutional Equities said the spike in global crude prices, even though temporary, will be negative for downstream oil marketing companies (BPCL, HPCL and IOCL) and Castrol.

"We do not rule out a possibility of moderation in marketing margins on auto fuels—a $10/bbl rise in global crude and product prices may require OMCs to increase retail price of diesel and gasoline by Rs5-6/liter in the following fortnight. Sharp jump in global crude prices may also put pressure on refining margins amid slowing demand, besides increasing absolute quantum of fuel and loss. On the other hand, higher crude prices may be construed positively for upstream PSUs and GAIL," Kotak said.

In one of the biggest one-day leap in recent times, Brent soared almost 20% at one point today, while WTI surged around 15% before paring the gains. At 7.48 am, Brent was trading higher by 11.09% at $66.90 a barrel.

Brent futures soared as much as $11.73 a barrel in intraday trading, the biggest increase since the contract launched in 1988. The global benchmark surged as much as 19.48% in percentage terms, the biggest jump since the first Gulf War in 1991, Bloomberg reported.

West Texas Intermediate was trading at $60.71 in early Asia trading following the blasts at facilities run by state-owned giant Aramco.

Global oil prices are feeling the impact of the attack more intensely than those in the US, where the benchmark is slightly buffered by being delivered to a land-locked oil hub in Oklahoma. Brent’s premium to West Texas Intermediate widened as much as 37% to $7.40 a barrel, the biggest gap since July.

The attack by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, effectively shut down six percent of the global oil supply.

Petrol and diesel prices are directly linked to international crude rates as India's imports about 70% of its crude requirements. As of now petrol, diesel rates are selling at the same rate as of end-August. Prices are still lower than what was in mid-July.

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