Petrol price back to where it was in March, diesel drops to 3-month low
Petrol is retailing at Rs 81.10 per litre while diesel has dropped to Rs 73.91 today (Representational Image)
Fuel prices in Mumbai and other metros across the country continued to witness a downward trend on Friday, thanks to the fall in crude oil prices in the international market.
Petrol and diesel prices in all the major cities were slashed down by 40-44 paise.
A litre of petrol today costs Rs 81.10 in Mumbai, Rs 75.57 in Delhi, Rs 77.53 in Kolkata and Rs 78.46 in Chennai. Diesel, meanwhile, is being retailed at Rs 73.91 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 70.56 in Delhi, Rs 72.41 in Kolkata and Rs 74.55 in Chennai.
At Rs 81.10, the price of petrol in Mumbai is at an 8-month low – it stood at Rs 80.94 on March 29, 2018. The cost of diesel, on the other hand, has reached a 3-month low. Diesel price had fallen to Rs 73.90 on August 28, 2018.
The decline in diesel rates has been slower due to moderate fall in its benchmark international prices.
The rates of fuel across India are witnessing a continuous decline due to a fall in the prices of crude oil and appreciation of the rupee.
The United States also recently softened its stand on Iran’s sanctions and gave its nod to eight countries, including India, to continue importing oil from Iran temporarily.
Petrol price had touched a record high of Rs 91.34 while diesel peaked to an all-time high of Rs 80.10 in Mumbai on October 4.
The same day, the government announced its decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise prices by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins
Many states including Maharashtra matched that with a reduction in local sales tax or VAT. As a result, rates fell to Rs 86.97 per litre for petrol and Rs 77.45 in case of diesel in Mumbai on October 5.
