Some Relief On Petrol, Diesel. Prices Cut After 16 Days Of Hikes

Wednesday's cut in petrol and diesel prices came after a total hike of Rs. 3-4 per litre in past 16 days

Petrol and diesel prices were lowered on Wednesday, after sixteen days of consecutive hikes. The reduction comes in the wake of some softening in global crude prices. Petrol and diesel prices were reduced today in the range of 56-63 paise per litre across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, according to Indian Oil Corporation. With that, petrol and diesel prices retreated from all-time highs in some cities, including Delhi and Mumbai. The cut came after a total hike of Rs. 3-4 per litre in the metros in the past 16 days. Petrol prices were hiked by Rs.3.8 per litre in Delhi, Rs. 3.74 per litre in Kolkata, Rs. 3.76 per litre in Mumbai and Rs. 4 per litre in Chennai from May 13 to May 29. Diesel prices, during this period, were increased by Rs. 3.38 a litre, Rs. 3.23 a litre, Rs. 3.59 a litre and Rs. 3.62 a litre respectively.

Here are five things to know about petrol and diesel prices today:

1. With effect from 6 am on Wednesday, petrol prices were at Rs. 77.83 per litre in Delhi, Rs.80.47 per litre in Kolkata, Rs. 85.65 per litre in Mumbai and Rs. 80.8 per litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the country's largest fuel retailer. Diesel prices were at Rs.68.75 a litre, Rs. 71.3 a litre, Rs. 73.2 a litre and Rs. 72.58 a litre respectively.

2. The continued increase in domestic petrol and diesel prices in the past 16 days was a result of higher global crude oil prices along with weakness in the rupee against the US dollar, among other factors. The government had said last week that it was looking at short-term as well as long-term solutions for rising domestic fuel prices. (Also read: Petrol, Diesel Should Be Brought Under GST: Nitin Gadkari)

3. Petrol and diesel prices in India are linked to Singapore gasoline prices and Arab Gulf diesel prices, which mostly track movements in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices fell to about $75 a barrel as Saudi Arabia and Russia said they were ready to ease supply curbs that have pushed crude prices to their highest since 2014, news agency Reuters reported.

4. A comparison of petrol and diesel prices in different parts of the country showed that petrol prices were still the highest in Mumbai, while diesel was most expensive in Hyderabad.

Metro/state capital	Petrol price on May 30 in Rs. per litre	Metro/state capital	Diesel price on May 30 in Rs. per litre
Port Blair	67.06	Port Blair	64.42
Panjim	71.72	Itanagar	66
Agartala	73.5	Aizwal	66.01
Aizwal	73.62	Chandigarh	66.76
Itanagar	73.64	Imphal	66.8
Chandigarh	74.85	Agartala	66.83
Daman	75.62	Kohima	67.09
Silvasa	75.7	Shimla	68.38
Imphal	75.89	Shillong	68.55
Kohima	76.26	Jullunder	68.65
Pondicherry	76.59	Delhi	68.75
Bhubhaneswar	76.64	Lucknow	68.91
Gandhinagar	77.12	Dehradun	69.08
Shillong	77.18	Ambala	69.27
Ranchi	77.51	Daman	69.5
Delhi	77.83	Silvasa	69.57
Ambala	77.94	Jammu	69.91
Shimla	77.99	Bangalore	69.93
Raipur	78.21	Panjim	69.97
Lucknow	78.35	Gangtok	70.45
Dehradun	78.86	Pondicherry	71.01
Bangalore	79.1	Kolkata	71.3
Jammu	79.52	Guwahati	71.78
Guwahati	80.03	Srinagar	72.13
Kolkata	80.47	Bhopal	72.36
Jaipur	80.6	Ranchi	72.58
Chennai	80.8	Chennai	72.58
Gangtok	80.85	Mumbai	73.2
Trivandrum	82	Jaipur	73.21
Srinagar	82.21	Patna	73.44
Hyderabad	82.45	Bhubhaneswar	73.7
Jullunder	83.08	Gandhinagar	73.89
Patna	83.3	Raipur	74.22
Bhopal	83.45	Trivandrum	74.6
Mumbai	85.65	Hyderabad	74.73
(Source: iocl.com)

(Also read: NITI Aayog Urges States To Cut Duty On Petrol)

5. Crude oil is the most expensive item on India's import bill as the country meets more than 80 per cent of its oil requirements through imports. Therefore, weakness in the rupee against the US dollar also puts pressure on domestic petrol and diesel prices. The rupee is down more than 6 per cent against the greenback so far this year.