Padma, Meghna, Jamuna shares jump after fuel price hike

The three state-owned companies’ share prices in the power and fuel sector soared on Sunday, a day after the government raised fuel oil prices by a huge margin.

Padma Oil Company’s share price jumped 2.49 per cent to Tk 214.40 from Tk 209.20 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

Meghna Petroleum’s share price went up by 0.99 per cent to Tk 204.10 over the previous session. 

Jamuna Oil Company’s stock prices rose 2.66 per cent to Tk 173.40, which was Tk 168.90 in the previous session.

The DSEX, the key index of the DSE, inched down 8 points to settle at 6,304 as the participants showed mixed reactions amidst a sudden upsurge of fuel prices in the country.

On that day, most of the company’s shares fell by close to the maximum limit of a one-day price loss, or two per cent.

The number of listed companies in the fuel and power sector is 23. Of them, three companies—Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna Oil—are involved in the fuel distribution business. 

The unprecedented fuel price hike will affect people’s lives and the capital market will not be left out, according to the market analysts.

In November of last year, the government increased the price of diesel and kerosene by Tk 15 to Tk 80 per litre. Nine months later, the fuel oil price announced by the Energy Division on Friday night was the highest in the country’s history.

As per the new prices effective from Saturday, a litre of diesel and kerosene now cost Tk 114 an increase from Tk 80, octane costs Tk 135 per litre from Tk 89, and petrol costs Tk 130 from Tk 86.

Soon after the energy ministry announced the prices, there was a huge reaction across the country. People protested the record price hike on social media. Bangladesh’s petrol pumps temporarily stopped selling fuel oil, causing chaos in many parts of the country.

Per barrel Brent crude fell to $93.81 on Thursday, the lowest since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, according to oilprice.com – a global petroleum products news outlet. On Friday, Brent crude price rose to $94.40, while WTI price, another crude oil indicator, stood at $88, having recently risen as high as $121.