Fuel prices fall for third consecutive day; petrol in Delhi settles at Rs 81.99, diesel at Rs 79 in Mumbai

In a respite to consumers, the prices of fuel witnessed a further dip across the nation on Saturday, for the third consecutive day. The petrol price in the national capital settled at Rs 81.99 per litre, a dip by 39 paise and that in Mumbai was Rs 87.46 per litre a decrease by 38 paise.

The diesel price mark was Rs 75.36 per litre, a decrease of 12 paise in Delhi and for Mumbai, the price was Rs 79 per litre, a reduction by 13 paise.

In the two other metro cities, almost the same cut was seen. In Kolkata, the petrol price settled at Rs 83.83 per litre, a dip by 38 paise and in Chennai, it was Rs 85.22 per litre, a cut of 41 paise -- the max amount across all the four metros.

The price for diesel in Kolkata was Rs 77.21 per litre and in Chennai, it was Rs 79.69.

On Friday the prices of both petrol and diesel across the country decreased. The petrol price in the national capital settled at Rs 82.38 per litre, a decrease of 24 paise and that in Mumbai was Rs 87.84 per litre also a cut by 24 paise. 

The diesel price mark was Rs 75.48 per litre, a decrease of 10 paise in Delhi and for Mumbai, the price was Rs 79.13 per litre, a decrease by 11 paise. 

In the two other metro cities, the same cut was seen. In Kolkata, the petrol price settled at Rs 84.21 per litre and in Chennai, it was Rs 85.63 per litre. The price for diesel in Kolkata was Rs 77.33 per litre and in Chennai, it was Rs 79.82 per litre.

As per the country`s pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend on international fuel prices on a 15-day average besides the value of the rupee. Prices vary from region to region due to local taxes as the product is excluded from the GST regime. The downward revision also comes on the back of multiple factors such as lower international crude oil cost and a strengthened rupee against the US dollar. 

Accordingly, the Brent crude was priced below $80 per barrel, which in recent past traded around $85 a barrel, while the rupee closed at 73.50 to a greenback from its previous close of 73.61 to a US dollar.

The dip in fuel prices comes nearly a fortnight after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a cut in excise duty by Rs 1.50 a litre. Additionally, the state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) had been mandated to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by Re 1 a litre. This is the first time after the announcement that the prices have come down.

The Delhi Petrol Dealers Association has announced a one-day strike demanding a decrease in VAT over fuel prices. The association said that they will observe the strike from 6 am on October 22 to 5 am on October 23. Following the strike call, all petrol and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) pumps in the national capital will remain closed.

The dealers have called for a protest after Delhi government refused to decrease Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. VAT in Delhi is higher than neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.