Petrol price cut by 22 paise per litre in Delhi on Monday; total reduction reaches Rs 4.27 in 19 days on softer international oil rates

Petrol price has been cut by Rs 4.27 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.53 in Delhi in the last 19 days on softer international rates, a pace faster than the spike in prices witnessed in the two-month period beginning mid-August. Petrol price on Monday was cut by 22 paise a litre and diesel by 20 paise, according to a price notification issued by state-owned fuel retailers. In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 78.56 per litre while diesel is priced at Rs 73.16, it said. Petrol in Mumbai costs Rs 84.06 and diesel Rs 76.67. With this, the reduction in rates in last 19 days now totals Rs 4.27 per litre for petrol and Rs 2.53 for diesel. [caption id=“attachment_5319381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Rates have been on the decline since 18 October. Petrol price had touched a record high of Rs 84 per litre in Delhi and Rs 91.34 in Mumbai on 4 October. Diesel on that day had peaked to Rs 75.45 a litre in Delhi and Rs 80.10 in Mumbai. Prices had started to climb from 16 August. Petrol in Delhi was priced at Rs 77.14 and in Mumbai at Rs 84.58 per litre on 15 August. Diesel on that day was priced at Rs 68.72 per litre in Delhi and Rs 72.96 in Mumbai. Between 16 August and 4 October, petrol price was hiked by Rs 6.86 per litre and diesel by Rs 6.73. On that day, 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 5 October. In Mumbai, rates fell to Rs 86.97 per litre for petrol and Rs 77.45 in case of diesel. As the international oil prices continued to rise, price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs 82.83 and Rs 75.69 on 17 October. In Mumbai, rates touched Rs 88.29 a litre for petrol and Rs 79.35 for diesel. But since then, international oil prices have been falling and rupee has also appreciated, resulting in decline in retail rates. 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. (With PTI inputs)