Petrol price cut by 7 paise for fifth consecutive day, no change in diesel rate; crude falls 6% to lowest level in more than a year

Petrol price was reduced by seven paise for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday while diesel prices remained unchanged in major cities across the country. Following the price cut, petrol is sold in Delhi at Rs 69.79 per litre, Mumbai Rs 75.41, Chennai Rs 72.41 and Kolkata Rs 71.89 a litre on Tuesday. Diesel price remained unchanged in the major cities. Petrol price had slipped below Rs 70-mark in Delhi on Monday itself for the first time this year. [caption id=“attachment_5320661” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. Reuters[/caption] Meanwhile, crude oil prices plunged more than 6 percent to the lowest level in more than a year on Monday, pulling back sharply late in the session as fears of an economic slowdown rattled the market. US crude futures and global benchmark Brent hit their lowest levels since 2017 during the session, putting both benchmarks on track for losses of about 40 percent in the fourth quarter. “What’s happening in the stock market is raising fears that the economy is grinding to a halt and thereby will basically kill any future oil demand,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “They’re pricing in a slowdown in the economy if not a recession with this drop.” The fourth-quarter price decline is likely to cause producers to throttle back on their output, he said. US crude futures have hit the lowest level since June 22, 2017, as jitters have grown about the impact of the escalating US-China trade dispute on global growth and crude demand. Brent crude is at its lowest level since 17 August, 2017. Markets across asset classes have come under pressure as the US government shutdown that began just after midnight on Saturday intensified growth concerns. Investors have flocked to safe-haven assets such as gold and government debt at the expense of crude oil and stocks. US crude futures settled at $42.53 a barrel, down $3.06, or 6.7 percent. Brent crude futures settled down $3.35, or 6.2 percent, at $50.47 a barrel. The market settled early ahead of the Christmas holiday. Prices extended losses in post-settlement trade. Brent fell 11 percent last week and hit its lowest level since September 2017, while US futures slid to their lowest level since July 2017, bringing the decline in the two contracts to more than 35 percent for the quarter.