Petrol price cut by Rs 2.42 per litre; diesel by Rs 2.25 per litre

Petrol price down by Rs 17.11 per litre in ten cuts since August, diesel price down by Rs 12.96 since October

The oil marketing companies  on Tuesday slashed petrol prices by Rs 2.42 a litre and diesel price by Rs 2.25 a litre in line with the decline in global oil prices.

After the price revision, to be effective from midnight, unbranded petrol will cost Rs 56.49 a liter in Delhi as compared to Rs 58.91 currently. Also, diesel will be priced at Rs 46.01 a liter, down from Rs 48.26 at present.

This is the 10th straight reduction in petrol price since August and sixth in diesel since October. Petrol and diesel prices were last cut on January 17 by Rs 2.42 and Rs 2.25 a liter, respectively.

“Since that price revision, international prices of both petrol and diesel have continued to be on a downtrend and the rupee-dollar exchange rate has appreciated. The combined impact of both these factors warrants a decrease in retail selling prices of both petrol and diesel,” the largest state-owned fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation said.

The global crude oil prices have slumped to a five-year low of $47 per barrel, thanks to a global supply glut backed by a surge in the US shale output coupled with the dip in demand from major consuming economies in Europe and Asia.

The Indian basket of crude oil price has also declined to $50 per barrel from a peak of $115 per barrel in June 2014.

With the slide in oil prices, under-recoveries of OMCs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene have come down by 30 per cent. The OMCs are currently incurring losses of Rs 13.32 on sale of every litre of kerosene and Rs 161.81 per LPG cylinder. This is lower than Rs 19.46 per liter losses on kerosene and Rs 235.91 on every LPG cylinder last month.