Petrol, diesel prices cut by Rs 2 a litre

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on Monday announced a Rs 2-a-litre cut in petrol and diesel prices here, effective from Monday night. Petrol would cost Rs 61 a litre and diesel Rs 50.51 a litre.

Petrol and diesel prices were last revised downwards on December 1 by Rs 0.91 a litre and Rs 0.84 a litre, respectively, on falling global oil prices.

The rupee-dollar exchange rate has risen since the last price change

On December 2, the central government, for the second time in a row, took advantage of falling global prices to increase the excise duty on petrol and diesel.

The duty on petrol was increased by Rs 2.25 a litre and diesel Rs 1 a litre. Last month, the duty on unbranded petrol was raised from Rs 1.20 to Rs 2.70 a litre and on unbranded diesel from Rs 1.46 to Rs 2.96 a litre. The duty on branded petrol was raised from Rs 2.35 to Rs 3.85 a litre and on branded diesel from Rs 3.75 to Rs 5.25 a litre.