Mumbai: After surging rampantly for 16 days in a row, petrol and diesel prices finally saw a reduction on Wednesday. Petrol prices were slashed by 59 paise in Mumbai and 60 paise in Delhi today. Meanwhile, diesel prices went down by 59 paise in Mumbai and 56 paise in the national capital.
The revised petrol prices in metropolitan cities are – Delhi: Rs 77.83 per litre, Mumbai: 85.65, Kolkata: 80.47 and Chennai: 80.80.
Meanwhile, the cost of diesel per litre as on Wednesday is Rs 68.75 per litre in Delhi, Rs 73.20 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 71.30 in Kolkata and Rs 72.58 in Chennai.
Petrol and diesel prices went down after 16 consecutive hikes in rates triggering political slugfest.
Notably, domestic petrol and diesel prices touched a record high on Friday.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 15-16 paise on Tuesday even as oil prices were mixed. The price rose beyond the Rs 86 mark on Monday.
Petrol and diesel prices in India are linked to Singapore gasoline prices GL95-SIN and Arab Gulf diesel prices GO-AG, which mostly track movements in crude oil prices LCOc1.
The reason behind the increase in petrol prices in the country is the rise in the crude oil cost and high excise duty levied on the particular fuel type.
Considering that tax form a major constituent of fuel prices, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said, the government wants to bring petroleum products under the goods and services tax (GST) regime in the long run.
“I have already categorically stated this issue several times. The present oil price hike is due to three main factors — hike in the international price of crude, fluctuation in the dollar and Indian currency ratio and some of the tax issues are also there. For long-term solutions, the government of India is planning for a holistic strategy. Bringing petroleum products within the ambit of GST is one among them. We are sensitive, let’s see how things are unfolding,” he told reporters.
