NEW DELHI : As crude oil rates dropped to their lowest since February 2016 due a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, petrol and diesel prices were slashed by 30 paise a litre and 25 paise a litre, respectively, today. Fuel rates were cut by the quarter of a rupee yesterday too and are expected to sustain the declining trend for the rest of the week.
In Delhi, a litre of petrol is priced at ₹70.29 per litre and diesel at ₹63.01 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol is selling at ₹75.99 per litre and diesel at ₹65.97 per litre. In Chennai, a litre of petrol will cost ₹73.02 per litre whereas diesel is now priced at ₹66.48 per litre. In Bengaluru, petrol is now selling at ₹72.70 and diesel at ₹65.16. In Hyderabad, petrol pumps are charging ₹74.72 for petrol and ₹68.60 for diesel.
1) On the decline since February 27, fuel rates have fallen by around ₹5 a litre so far in 2020. Petrol and diesel prices are now at an 8-9 month low.
2) Current retail prices do no reflect yesterday’s massive slump of about 30% in crude oil rates as oil marketing companies take into account a 15-day average of international benchmark rates. Given the extreme volatility in the oil and currency market, any increase or decrease in fuel prices gets staggered over a span of few days.
3) Crude oil prices ended yesterday with a 25% plunge but regained by around 8% today. Already reeling under the gloom of declining demand due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia sparked the biggest daily rout in the market since the 1991 Gulf War.
4) Brent crude futures were up $2.84, around 8%, to $37.20 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $38.22 a barrel. Crude prices are now supported by hopes of an economic stimulus and Russia’s indication that talks with OPEC is not off the table.
5) Back in India, the opposition Congress has blamed the Centre for not cutting fuel prices in tune with the crude oil rates. “We also saw crude oil falling to an all-time low of $32 a barrel, but petrol and diesel continue to be sold in India at ₹74 and ₹64 per litre, respectively,” Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
