Petrol, diesel prices down for 3rd consecutive day

OMCs cut the prices of key domestic transportation fuels -- petrol and diesel -- for the third consecutive day on Saturday.

The prices of petrol and diesel were lowered in the national capital by 39 and 12 paise respectively. (Image: PTI)

The state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) cut the prices of key domestic transportation fuels -- petrol and diesel -- for the third consecutive day on Saturday. The prices of petrol and diesel were lowered in the national capital by 39 and 12 paise respectively. According to the IndianOil Corp data, petrol was priced at Rs 81.99 per litre in the national capital, down from Rs 82.38 on Friday. As per the data, the petrol was priced at Rs 87.46 in Mumbai, Rs 84.83 in Kolkata and Rs 85.22 per litre in Chennai down in the range of 38-41 paise. As per the country's pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend on international fuel prices on a 15-day average besides the value of the rupee. Prices vary from region to region due to local taxes as the product is excluded from the GST regime. Delhi has the lowest tax rate among the four metro cities. In tandem with petrol, the cost of diesel declined on Saturday across all metros in a range of 12-13 paise. On Saturday, the diesel price in Mumbai was at Rs 79 from its previous price of 79.13 on Friday. Prices of diesel in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai declined to Rs 75.36, Rs 77.21 and Rs 79.69 a litre from the Friday's Rs 75.48, Rs 77.33 and Rs 79.82 respectively. The downward revision also comes on the back of multiple factors such as lower international crude oil cost and a strengthened rupee against the US dollar. Accordingly, the Brent crude was priced below $80 per barrel, which in recent past traded around $85 a barrel, while the rupee closed at 73.50 to a greenback from its previous close of 73.61 to a US dollar. On a daily basis, the decline in petrol and diesel prices commenced on Thursday nearly a fortnight after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a cut in excise duty by Rs 1.50 a litre. Additionally, the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) had been mandated to reduce prices of petrol and diesel by Re 1 a litre. This is the first time after the announcement that the prices have come down.