Fuel prices see a fall for 13th day; petrol at Rs 79.55 per litre, diesel at Rs 73.78 in Delhi

Fuel prices continued to be slashed for the 13th consecutive day bringing relief to customers from indiscriminate hikes during the first half of the month. On Tuesday, the price of petrol per litre in Delhi was slashed by Rs 0.20 to 79.55 while diesel was cut by Rs 0.7 to Rs 73.78 per litre, as per prices notified by oil-producing companies.

In Mumbai, the rate of petrol per litre was pegged at Rs 85.04 while that of diesel was Rs 77.32 per litre, a cut of Rs 0.20 and Rs 0.08, respectively.

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The prices of petrol and diesel in Kolkata were Rs 81.63 and Rs 75.70, respectively. In Chennai, the prices were pegged at Rs 82.86 and Rs 78.08, respectively.

Petrol and diesel prices have been cut by more than two rupees in the past 10 days ever since the rates touched a record high of Rs 84 per litre for petrol and Rs 75.45 a litre for diesel on October 4.

Following the huge hike, with Mumbai touching a high of Rs 91.34, 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 by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins.

Subsequent to this, the petrol price came down to Rs 81.50 per litre and diesel at Rs 72.95 a litre on October 5 in Delhi, according to a government statement.    

“As the international oil prices continued to rise, price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs 82.83 per litre and Rs 75.69 per litre. (But) since last eight days, international oil prices have been falling and rupee has also appreciated,” the statement said.

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The twin factors have brought down fuel prices to a six-week low.          

“As per the assessment, the retail prices of petrol and diesel may reign easy in the next few days,” it said.          

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,” the statement added.