BackCrude oil rates down 30% since October; petrol, diesel prices decline 10%
Since early October, petrol and diesel prices have fallen by less than 10% while international crude oil rates are down by about 30% during this period. A litre of petrol today costs ₹76.38 in Delhi, ₹81.90 in Mumbai, ₹76.99 in Bengaluru and ₹78.33 in Chennai.
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New Delhi: A day after crude oil prices fell by more than 6%, petrol and diesel prices were kept unchanged in India today. Since early October, fuel prices have fallen by less than 10% while crude oil rates are down by about 30% internationally during this period. A litre of petrol today costs ₹ 76.38 in Delhi, ₹ 81.90 in Mumbai, ₹ 76.99 in Bengaluru and ₹ 78.33 in Chennai. In the beginning of October, the price of petrol varied between ₹ 83 and ₹ 84 in Delhi before government intervention brought rates down.
During this period, crude oil prices had hit a four-year high of $75 a barrel and yesterday’s market for US WTI crude futures ended at $53.43 per barrel. At its lowest since December 2017, Brent crude oil futures were trading at around $63 a barrel in morning today.
The rupee, which was also hovering above 74 a dollar, has gained and is now below 72. These two factors are the major contributors to retail fuel prices in India, which imports about 80% of its crude oil requirement.
Read: Petrol is now cheaper than diesel in these cities
A surge in output despite sluggish demand has pushed the oil market towards a bearish stance. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pushing for a supply cut of 1-1.4 million barrels per day when it meets on December 6.
In India, state-run oil companies use a formula comprising the 15-day average price of crude oil imports and the exchange rate of the rupee to calculate the price of petrol and diesel.
The current phase of declining petrol and diesel prices began from October 5 when the central government cut excise duty and asked state-run oil retailers to take a Re 1 cut on the selling price of every litre of petrol and diesel. Several state governments also cut the sales tax or VAT on fuel. In certain places, prices were down by as much as ₹ 5. Petrol had touched an all-time high of ₹ 84 per litre in Delhi and ₹ 91.34 in Mumbai while diesel had peaked at ₹ 75.45 a litre in Delhi and ₹ 80.10 in Mumbai on October 4.
Since then petrol and diesel prices are back to where they were in the middle of August when the spate of price hikes began before prices cooled in October.
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