INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Wednesday's marginal reduction comes in the wake of some softening in global crude prices
Petrol and diesel
prices were marginally lowered on Wednesday, after sixteen days of consecutive hikes
The marginal reduction of 1 paisa per litre comes in the wake of some softening in global crude prices
Despite Wednesday's mild reduction, petrol and diesel prices are still near all-time highs in some cities, including Delhi and Mumbai
Indian Oil Corporation had earlier on Wednesday announced the reduction to be in the range of 56-63 paise a litre on its website
but due to a clerical error the price prevalent on May 25 was communicated as today's price," news agency Press Trust of India cited a
senior official of Indian Oil Corporation as saying.Here are five things to know about petrol and diesel prices today:1
With effect from 6 am on Wednesday, petrol prices were at Rs 78.42 per litre in Delhi, Rs 81.05 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 86.23 per litre in
litre)30-May29-May13-May30-May29-May13-MayDelhi78.4278.4374.6369.369.3165.93Kolkata81.0581.0677.3271.8571.8668.63Mumbai86.2386.2482.4873.787
3.7970.2Chennai81.4281.4377.4373.1773.1869.56(Source: iocl.com)2
The cut of 1 paisa per litre came after a total hike of Rs 3-4 per litre in the four metros in the past 16 days
Petrol prices were hiked by Rs 3.8 per litre in Delhi, Rs 3.74 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 3.76 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 4 per litre in
Chennai from May 13 to May 29
Diesel prices, during this period, were increased by Rs 3.38 a litre, Rs 3.23 a litre, Rs 3.59 a litre and Rs 3.62 a litre respectively.3
The continued increase in domestic petrol and diesel prices in the past 16 days was a result of higher global crude oil prices along with
weakness in the rupee against the US dollar, among other factors
The government had said last week that it was looking at short-term as well as long-term solutions for rising domestic fuel
Petrol and diesel prices in India are linked to Singapore gasoline prices and Arab Gulf diesel prices, which mostly track movements in crude
Crude oil prices fell to about $75 a barrel as Saudi Arabia and Russia said they were ready to ease supply curbs that have pushed crude
prices to their highest since 2014, news agency Reuters reported.5
Crude oil is the most expensive item on India's import bill as the country meets more than 80 per cent of its oil requirements through
Therefore, weakness in the rupee against the US dollar also puts pressure on domestic petrol and diesel prices
The rupee is down more than 6 per cent against the greenback so far this year.(With agency inputs)
