PSU oil firms likely to cut petrol prices by Rs4 a litre
27 Jun 2012
State-run oil marketing companies that have gained from a record Rs7.54 a litre hike in petrol prices last month, amidst high crude prices, have now agreed to cut petrol prices by as much as Rs4 a litre, although hesitantly.
The decision comes after weeks of fall in the price of crude oil in the international market, which pushed crude to an eight-month low of $89 a barrel last week.
The international price for the Indian basket of crude computed by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the petroleum ministry increased slightly to $90.75 /barrel (bbl) on Tuesday.
The price was higher than $89.39/bbl on the previous trading day, ie, Monday.
In rupee terms, the price of crude oil increased to Rs5,179.10 per bbl from Rs5,053.22 per barrel on Monday. This was due to an increase in crude prices in dollar terms and rupee depreciation with rupee-dollar exchange rate, which stood at Rs57.07 a dollar against Rs56.53 a dollar on Monday.
For reducing petrol prices, oil marketing companies, however, had made it conditional that the price of crude declined and that of the rupee gained.