Retail prices of petrol, diesel may reign easy in next few days

As the debate over prices of petroleum products is raging in the country, official sources on Friday expressed hope that the retail prices of petrol and diesel may reign easy in next few days.

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

The retail selling price of petrol and diesel is dependent on the international prices of petrol and diesel and the Rupee- US Dollar exchange rate. This is because large proportion of country's requirement is met through imports, they added.

According to the official sources, the retail prices of petrol and diesel have increased in the recent months due to increase in the international prices and depreciation of rupee.

Official sources said that it was decided on October 4, 2018, that Government would reduce the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs. 1.50 per litre in order to provide relief to the consumers from escalating prices.

Besides, OMCs were asked to reduce their margin of Rs.1 per litre. Thus, the total decrease in price of petrol and diesel from central government was Rs. 2.50 per litre, they said.

The retail selling price of petrol and diesel was Rs. 84 per litre and Rs. 75.45 per litre as on October 4, 2018, which has come down to Rs. 81.50 per litre and Rs. 72.95 per litre respectively on October 5, 2018, they added.

As the international oil prices continued to rise, the price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs. 82.83 per litre and Rs. 75.69 per litre, sources noted.

They also added that the international oil prices have been falling and the rupee has also appreciated since last eight days.

"In line with these developments, retail prices of petrol and diesel in Delhi have come down to Rs. 80.85 per litre and Rs. 74.73 per litre respectively. This means, in the last one week, retail prices have registered a reduction of Rs. 1.98 per litre on petrol and Rs. 0.96 per litre on diesel," they said.