Following the largest ever-disruption of crude production in Saudi Arabia amid drone attacks on its key facilities, prices of petrol and diesel in India may shoot up by Rs 5 to 6 a litre in next fortnight, experts said on Monday.
A recent report by Kotak said that in light of the sharp rise in international crude oil prices, Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) may increase the retail price of diesel and gasoline by Rs 5 to 6 per litre in the following fortnight.
Oil prices soared as much as 20 per cent to above $71 a barrel as markets reopened after a major attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure.
The attack immediately erased out 5.7 million barrels. "These attacks resulted in production suspension of 5.7 million barrels of crude oil per day," Saudi Aramco said in a statement.
The prices, however, Brent eased at the time of writing to $67 a barrel, nearly 12 per cent higher than its previous close.
Oil prices, experts said, could spike in the next several days as a result of the attack on Saudi Aramco, the second-largest oil producer in the world.
Indian markets too, ended lower on Monday following the drone attacks. The sharp rise in oil prices that followed the attack dampened any chances of a positive reaction to government's economic stimulus package last week.
The benchmark Sensex closed 261.68 points lower at 37,123.31. It opened at 37,204.56, lower than its previous close of 37,384.99. The broader Nifty also slid 72.40 points, or by 0.65 per cent to 11,003.50.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, in a tweet, said: "Saudi Arabia oil supply was attacked. There is reason to believe that we know the culprit, are locked and loaded depending on verification, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!"
The drone attacks claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels set alight two major oil facilities run by Aramco on Saturday, the Kingdom's Interior Ministry said.
The Saudi Press Agency, citing a statement by the Ministry, said that the drones caused the fire at the refinery in the city of Abqaiq in the Kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province, as well as the blaze at the Khurais oil field, around 150 km from Riyadh.