Petrol, diesel rates decline in the last eight days

Petrol price has been cut by ₹1.98 per litre and diesel by ₹0.96 a litre in the last eight days on the back of softer international rates, an official statement said on Friday.

In Delhi, petrol now costs ₹80.85 per litre and diesel is priced at ₹74.73 a litre, it said.

The rates are off their record high of ₹84 per litre for petrol and ₹75.45 a litre for diesel touched on October 4. The government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise by another ₹1 a litre by reducing their margins.

Subsequent to this, the petrol price came down to ₹81.50 per litre and diesel at ₹72.95 a litre on October 5, the statement said.

“As the international oil prices continued to rise, price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to ₹82.83 per litre and ₹75.69 per litre. (But) since last eight days, international oil prices have been falling and rupee has also appreciated,” the statement said.

The twin factors have brought down fuel prices to a six-week low.

“As per the assessment, the retail prices of petrol and diesel may reign easy in the next few days,” it said.

The retail selling price of petrol and diesel is dependent on the international prices of benchmark fuel and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate. “This is because a large proportion