Govt cuts petrol, diesel prices

NEW DELHI: After 16 days of continuous hike, fuel prices on Wednesday witnessed a slight drop.

The petrol prices have been cut down by 60 paise in Delhi and 59 paise in Mumbai while diesel price went down by 56 paise in Delhi and 59 paise in Mumbai.

The revised petrol prices in metropolitan cities are: Delhi: Rs 77.83 per litre; Mumbai: 85.65; Kolkata: 80.47 and Chennai: 80.80.

Meanwhile, the cost of diesel per litre as on Wednesday is Rs 68.75 per litre in Delhi, Rs 73.20 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 71.30 in Kolkata and Rs 72.58 in Chennai. 

Petrol, diesel prices vary from state to state due to local taxes. Domestic petrol and diesel prices touched a record high on Friday.

Petrol and diesel prices in India are linked to Singapore gasoline prices GL95-SIN and Arab Gulf diesel prices GO-AG, which mostly track movements in crude oil prices LCOc1.

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.

India’s three state-run fuel retailers - IOC, BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp - control most of India’s fuel retail market and tend to move their fuel prices in tandem.