Petrol price down Rs7.29 per litre in one month
19 Nov 2018
Auto fuel prices that have skyrocketed over the past few months have now fallen to mid-August levels, with petrol on Sunday selling at Rs76.71 a litre in Delhi, down Rs7.29, on the back of falling prices of crude oil.
Petrol in Mumbai on Sunday cost Rs82.28 per litre while diesel was priced at Rs74.97, down down Rs6.01 per litre and Rs4.38 per litre, respectively, from Rs88.29 a litre and Rs79.35, respectively.
On Sunday, state-run oil marketing companies cut petrol prices by 20 paise a litre and that of diesel by 18 paise - the 29th straight daily reduction in rates – wiping out the massive price increase in petrol witnessed in two months since mid-August.
In Delhi, diesel on Sunday was sold at Rs71.56 per litre compared to Rs71.74 on Saturday. With this, the reduction in rates in the last one month totals Rs7.29 per litre for petrol and Rs3.89 a litre for diesel.
While fuel prices have been on the decline since 18 October, the decline in diesel prices has been slower due to moderate fall in its benchmark international prices, according to oil companies.
Petrol price had touched a record Rs84 per litre in Delhi and Rs91.34 in Mumbai on 4 October. Diesel had then peaked to an all-time high of Rs75.45 a litre in Delhi and Rs80.10 in Mumbai.
Petrol in Delhi was priced at Rs77.14 per litre and in Mumbai it cost Rs84.58 on 15 August. Diesel was priced at Rs68.72 per litre in Delhi and at Rs72.96 in Mumbai on that day.
Between 16 August and 4 October, petrol price was hiked by Rs6.86 per litre and that of diesel by Rs6.73. On that day, the government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise prices by another Re1 a litre by reducing their margins. Many states, including Maharashtra, matched that with a reduction in local sales tax or VAT.
Subsequent to this, the price of petrol came down to Rs81.50 per litre in Delhi and diesel to Rs72.95 a litre on 5 October. In Mumbai rates fell to Rs86.97 per litre for petrol and by Rs77.45 for diesel. With a spike in international oil prices, the price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs82.83 and Rs75.69 on 17 October. In Mumbai, rates touched Rs88.29 a litre for petrol and Rs79.35 for diesel.
However, since then, international oil prices have been falling and rupee has also appreciated, resulting in decline in retail fuel prices.
Fuel prices are expected to remain easy under the present circumstances with both crude oil and the US dollar easing from their recent highs.