A week after polls, petrol rates up marginally, diesel cheaper

Nagpur: After a series of cuts, petrol rates have begun rising again. A week after the results of elections in five states were announced, petrol has become costlier by 20 paise per litre in city. There was a hike of 19 paise on Monday alone. Diesel, however, has become cheaper by 10 paise during the same period.
The rates for Monday stood at Rs76.76 for a litre of petrol and Rs68.12 for diesel. The prices vary in outlets within the city. Since October, when fuel prices had touched a peak, petrol has become cheaper by Rs16 in the city and diesel prices have eased by Rs12. The peak was touched on October 4 when petrol was at Rs92 and diesel at Rs80.71 a litre.

A downtrend followed after that. The last week saw a mix trend with only minor differences till Monday.

Petrol on December 11 was priced At Rs76.43, a couple of days later it came down by 2 paise to again rise by 5 paise. After remaining stable at Rs76.56 for two more days, petrol rates jumped by 19 paise on Monday.

Diesel has remained relatively stable. On December 11 it was priced at Rs68.32 a litre and on Dec 14 it came down to Rs68.22. After coming down to Rs68.02 on Sunday the rates were up by 10 paise on Monday. On a weekly comparison it remains cheaper by 10 paise, said a source.

A private analyst said rates have only marginally changed because crude prices have remained stable during the period. Diesel is slightly cheaper because demand for the fuel has come down. Petroleum dealers say that the daily price change regime had left them with thinner margins. Though there have been gains during the uptrend, subsequent fall has negated the affect, said Vilas Salpekar, vice-president of Vidarbha Petroleum Dealers’ Association.

The rates are changed on a daily basis. Even if there is stock purchased at an earlier price, only the revised rate can be charged. This leads to losses when there is a downward revision, he said.