Petrol price reduced by 18 paise, diesel 17 paise after being stagnant for 24 days

New Delhi:Prices of petrol and diesel were reduced by 18 paise and 17 paise per litre respectively on Wednesday, after remaining unchanged since 24 days.

With the reduction, the petrol was selling at Rs 90.99 a litre while diesel at Rs 91.17 in Delhi.

In Mumbai, the price of petrol was now Rs 97.40 and diesel Rs 88.42. The petrol and diesel were selling at Rs 92.25 and Rs 86.29 in Chennai whereas in Kolkata, the price of petrol was Rs 91.18 and Diesel Rs 84.18.The prices have been reduced as there was a drop in international crude oil prices due to fear of second wave of Covid-19.

In India, the price of petrol had almost touched Rs 100 at various cities last month. The high price has been attributed to lower production by OPEC nations and taxes imposed by state and union government.Interestingly, the oil prices in India, after registering a significant spike, have remained stable since the announcement of Assembly elections in four states.

The government’s maintains that it has got no role in pricing. India’s three government-run oil marketing companies--Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL)-- have introduced dynamic fuel pricing where fuel prices change daily depending on global oil price fluctuations.The cost of the Indian basket of crude, which comprises Oman, Dubai and Brent crude, was at 62.71 dollars a barrel on March 23.

India is volatile to international crude oil prices as majority of its needs are fulfilled through imports.(UNI)