New Delhi: As international crude oil prices struggle to come out of a bearish market, the price of petrol has now fallen back to its January levels while diesel is tracking April rates. Even as crude oil prices tumbled more than 5% on Tuesday, petrol and diesel prices were left unchanged by state-run fuel retailers today. With Brent trading around $56-57 per barrel, the price of oil is now at its lowest in a year. A litre of petrol today costs Rs 70.63 in Delhi, Rs 76.25 in Mumbai, Rs 71.20 in Bengaluru, Rs 73.29 in Chennai and Rs 72.71 in Kolkata.
Diesel, on the other hand, costs Rs 64.54 in Delhi, Rs 67.55 in Mumbai, Rs 64.90 in Bengaluru, Rs 68.14 in Chennai and Rs 66.30 in Kolkata. From its October 4 highs, the price of petrol is down Rs 14-15 a litre while the price of diesel is off Rs 11-12 a litre. This month alone, petrol and diesel prices are down by Rs 2-3 per litre.
The lowest that petrol had touched this calendar year was on January 1, when its price was 69.97 a litre in Delhi. The lowest for diesel was Rs 59.70 on the same date. Petrol’s decline has been faster than that of diesel because of a difference in benchmark rates.
After falling by 5% yesterday to a 14-month low of $56 a barrel, Brent was trying to reclaim some of its losses in morning trade today. All eyes are now on the outcome of a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve during which the benchmark lending rate is expected to be raised.