Petrol\, diesel prices slashed after 13 days as crude oil trades near lowest level

Petrol, diesel prices slashed after 13 days as crude oil trades near lowest level

 Oil firms cited a drop in the cost of international crude production as a reason behind the price decline, which has happened for the first time in the past two months.

Providing a bit of relief to consumers, state-owned oil companies on Thursday reduced petrol and diesel prices after a gap of 13 days by 21 paise and 11 paise per litre, respectively. Oil firms cited a drop in the cost of international crude production as a reason behind the price decline, which has happened for the first time in the past two months. Meanwhile, here are the fuel prices in four major metro cities on Thursday after the price cut by OMCs.

  • Delhi: Petrol Rs 82.62 per litre, diesel Rs 75.58 per litre
  • Mumbai: Petrol Rs 88.08 per litre; diesel Rs 79.24 per litre
  • Chennai: Petrol Rs 85.88 per litre, diesel Rs 79.93 per litre
  • Kolkata: Petrol Rs 84.44 per litre; diesel Rs 77.42 per litre

On October 4, the government had cut excise duty by Rs 1.5 and had asked oil marketing firms to absorb Re 1, which came into the effect next day. As many as ten BJP-ruled states had also announced Rs 2.5 per litre cut in VAT to pass on the benefits to consumers.

After the October 4 cut, the diesel prices have seen the fastest increase in rates since mid-June 2017, the year when the oil companies implemented daily price revision. The overall cut of Rs 5 on diesel and petrol has been wiped out within the first week due to continuous rise in prices.

Meanwhile, the international crude oil traded near its lowest level in a month on a bigger-than-expected gain in American stockpiles on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery traded 11 cents lower at $69.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent for December settlement was at $79.89 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent crude oil had earlier this month hit a four-year high of $86.74 a barrel.

"Today's price decline to below our expected support at the $70 level would appear to set the trade up for a weaker pricing environment than we had anticipated," Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates, said in a note, reported Reuters.