No more toiling

Upstream oil companies ONGC and Oil India are up 35 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, in the last six months. Though oil prices have started to rise lately, they have stayed low for much of the year. The graphic highlights how crude has moved over the last six months. Even though it has witnessed a lot of volatility, crude at the end of the year is a little over its price six months ago. Why then are ONGC and Oil India moving up? Analysts at Jefferies Equity Research believe the primary reason behind the good show is a sharp decline in expenses. This has led to a positive surprise in earnings. The second reason they have given is that the government has allowed oil-marketing companies to hike retail prices of LPG and keros