New Delhi, Dec 1: The price of petrol was cut by 58 paise per litre and that of diesel by 25 paise on Monday midnight, reversing the trend of increasing rates, on global cues.
The price cut more than reverses the hike of 36 paise a litre in petrol rates effected on November 16, the first increase in five months. Similarly, in the case of diesel, it reverses the three rounds of hikes since October — the last being 87 paise a litre on November 16.
Prior to the November 16 hike, petrol price had been slashed on four occasions — by Rs 2.43 on August 1, Rs 1.27 on August 16, Rs 2 on September 1 and 50 paise on November 1. Diesel rates were not changed on November 1, but hiked by 95 paise on October 16 and 50 paise on October 1. Rates of diesel were last cut by 50 paise on September 1.
State-owned fuel retailers — IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) — revise petrol and diesel prices on 1st and 16th of every month based on average imported cost and rupee-dollar exchange rate in the previous fortnight.
“The movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes,” the IOC statement added.
