Indian Oil Corp cuts petrol prices by 4.5%

Prices down as global prices of the fuel have declined and as the rupee appreciated against the dollar

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) , the country's biggest refiner, will cut petrol prices by 4.5% from Wednesday as global prices of the fuel have declined and as the rupee appreciated against the dollar, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The three state-run fuel retailers -- IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp -- tend to move their prices together.

India deregulated petrol prices in June 2010.

In January, India allowed fuel retailers to raise the price of subsidised diesel by 1% a litre every month and asked bulk buyers to pay market rates.

However, the retailers have held back from raising diesel prices, considered a politically sensitive issue, despite suffering a revenue loss of Rs 3.80 a litre on the fuel, ahead of the polls in Karnataka in May.