Petrol price remains same for 6th day at Rs 83.06 a ltr, diesel at Rs 76.48

Petrol prices in Mumbai stood at Rs 92.86 per litre -- the same as yesterday. In Chennai, petrol remained unchanged to sell at Rs 88.82

Petrol price on Tuesday remained stable at Rs 86.30 for the sixth straight day in the national capital. Diesel price was also unchanged at Rs 76.48 per litre. 

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre on January 27, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. This had taken prices in Delhi to Rs 86.30 per litre and Rs 76.48, respectively.

Petrol prices in Mumbai stood at Rs 92.86 per litre -- the same as yesterday. One litre of diesel will cost Rs 83.30 in the city. In Chennai, petrol remained unchanged to sell at Rs 88.82. Diesel was retailing at Rs 81.71 in the city. 

In Kolkata, the retail price of petrol remained at Rs 87.69 and diesel at Rs 80.08 per litre. 

Rates differ from state to state, depending on value-added tax (VAT). Petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates. 

The stability in prices of fuel has come after weeks of rising prices. Crude price had remained firm for last few weeks because of unilateral production cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and a pick up in consumption in all major economies globally. The top oil explorer had pledged additional voluntary output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March. 

The uptick in fuel prices also led to demands for a cut in excice duty. Earlier, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said that the fuel prices had gone up because of a lower production in oil-producing nations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

State-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- had on January 6, resumed daily price revision after nearly a month-long hiatus.

However, petrol and diesel prices will not be cut as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ignored calls for a reduction in excise duty rates to help bring down prices from historic high levels.

Instead, her Budget for the 2021-22 fiscal tweaked excise duty structure to accommodate an agriculture infrastructure development cess, whose accruals would not be shared with the states.

In the Budget, which was presented on February 1, Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess of Rs 2.5 per litre was imposed on petrol and Rs 4 per litre on diesel. However, this cess, will not put additional burden on consumers, Sitharaman had explained.