Fuel prices slashed yet again; petrol at Rs 78.06 a litre, diesel at Rs 72.74 in Delhi

Prices of petrol and diesel continued to be slashed marginally on Friday as well continuing the Diwali cheer. Both petrol and diesel prices dipped by Rs 0.15 a litre in Delhi, according to the price notification of state-owned oil firms. Petrol was pegged at Rs 78.06 a litre and diesel at Rs 72.74 per litre. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, petrol was being sold for Rs 83.57 per litre and diesel at Rs 76.22, a decrease of Rs 0.15 a litre and Rs 0.16 a litre, respectively.

The prices of petrol and diesel in Kolkata were Rs 80.33 and Rs 74.93, respectively. In Chennai, the prices were pegged at Rs 81.46 and Rs 77.24, respectively. The past two weeks have provided some relief to consumers battered by two months of relentless rate hikes.

Read More | Zayn Malik talks about girlfriend, Gigi Hadid and One Direction

Petrol price has been cut by over Rs 4 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.33 in the past 20 days on softer international rates, a pace faster than the spike in prices witnessed in the two-month period beginning mid-August. 

Between August 16 and October 4, petrol price was hiked by Rs 6.86 per litre and diesel by Rs 6.73.

On October 4, the government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise the price by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins.  Subsequent to this, the petrol price came down to Rs 81.50 per litre in Delhi and diesel to Rs 72.95 a litre on October 5. In Mumbai, rates fell to Rs 86.97 per litre for petrol and Rs 77.45 in case of diesel. 

Before the price cut, petrol in Delhi had hit an all-time high of Rs 84 per litre while diesel was at record Rs 75.45. This came down to Rs 81.50 per litre for petrol and Rs 72.95 in case of diesel.

Also Read | Trolling isn't for me; keep it light and enjoy festive season: Kohli

In Mumbai, petrol had hit a peak of Rs 91.34 on October 4 and diesel was sold at a record high of Rs 80.10.

Industry sources said as per the assessment, the retail prices of petrol and diesel may reign easy in the next few days. 

The retail selling price of petrol and diesel is dependent on the international prices of benchmark fuel and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate. This is because a large proportion of country's requirement is met through imports.