Petrol, diesel prices remain stable, fuel sales return to pre-Covid levels

Fuel prices in the country have remained steady for over a fortnight now even though the global oil market remains volatile with regular variations in prices. Accordingly, petrol continues to be priced at Rs 91.17 a litre and diesel Rs 81.47 a litre in the capital on Friday. Fuel prices have not been revised now for 20 days.

Across the country as well the petrol and diesel price remain unchanged. But the pause has not helped in bringing down fuel prices that have crossed Rs 100 per litre (petrol) mark in several parts of the country. The petrol and diesel prices have increased 26 times in 2021 with the two auto fuels increasing by Rs 7.46 and Rs 7.60 per litre respectively so far this year.

In Mumbai, the petrol price stood at Rs 97.57 per litre--the same since Feb 27. In Chennai, petrol was at Rs 93.11. Diesel was selling at Rs 86.45 in the city. 

In Bengaluru, petrol and diesel prices stayed at Rs 94.22 and 86.37 respectively.

Prices have stabilised amid an outcry over record-high fuel prices, which have been witnessing an upswing since January, leading to demands for a cut in excise duty. Petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates.

Meanwhile, India's fuel demand, except ATF, has returned to pre-Covid levels and a reflating economy will help consumption grow in near future, the head of the nation's top oil firm said on Tuesday.

Fuel sales had fallen by a record 45.8 per cent in April last year when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to check the spread of coronavirus infections. Demand started to recover with the easing of lockdown restrictions, with petrol returning to normal growth first and now diesel too is back at pre-Covid levels.

"Expect for ATF, we have touched normal demand," Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said. "We are back on track."

While petrol sales had reached pre-Covid levels a few months back, diesel was up 7.4 per cent year-on-year in the first half of March. This is the first annual rise in petrol sales since October. ATF sales, which fell by more than 80 per cent in the aftermath of the lockdown, was down 36.5 per cent in the first half of March.

India's economy returned to positive growth territory in the fourth quarter of 2020 as its real GDP expanded by 0.4 per cent year-on-year after two-quarters of contraction. This was after provincial and localised lockdowns were lifted amid a fall in the daily number of new Covid-19 cases.

Cities	Petrol (In Rs)	Diesel (In Rs)
New Delhi	91.17	81.47
Kolkata	91.35	84.35
Mumbai	97.57	88.6
Chennai	93.11	86.45
Gurugram	89.11	81.83
Noida	89.46	82.01
Bengaluru	94.22	86.37
Bhubaneshwar	91.9	88.79
Chandigarh	87.73	81.17
Hyderabad	94.79	88.86
Jaipur	97.38	89.67
Lucknow	89.31	81.85
Patna	93.48	86.73
Trivandrum	93.05	87.53
Pune	97.39	87.07
Bhopal	99.23	89.78
Dehradun	89.89	82.12
Raipur	89.62	88.24
Panjim	89.34	86.17
Ahmedabad	88.31	87.74
Gandhinagar	88.55	87.97