Oil marketing companies on fire! IOC, HPCL, BPCL share prices rally up to 5%

Shares of leading oil marketing companies such as IOC, HPCL, BPCL rallied by up to 5 per cent as US-China trade war fears weighed on global oil prices. IOC, HPCL, BPCL were the top gainers on Nifty index. 

HPCL gained as much as 4.83 per cent to Rs 268.60, its biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly three weeks. BPCL rose 2.59 per cent to Rs 381, its one-week top, while IOC climbed 3 per cent to Rs 159.80 on the BSE. 

Nifty Energy Index rose over 1 per cent to intraday high of 13,353.35 mark. 

In the international market, oil prices seesawed in a nervous trade as the United States implemented a raft of tariffs on Chinese goods, which should prompt Beijing to retaliate, potentially including a duty on US crude imports. Brent crude futures were down 6 cents, or 0.1 per cent, at $77.33 a barrel.

China has said it will impose tariffs on 545 US goods in return. Meanwhile, major Chinese ports have already delayed clearing goods from the United States, according to several sources.

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As part of the retaliatory response, Beijing has threatened a 25 percent tariff on US crude imports, although it has not specified an introduction date.

American crude shipments to China are around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), worth $1 billion a month at current prices, reported Reuters. This would make US oil noncompetitive in China.