Fuel Price

Over the past 2-3 years, the domestic road freight transportation industry ran into many speed-breakers. The axle load norms caused a discernible drop in fleet utilisation levels in fiscal 2019, while the BS-VI norms led to a 10-15 per cent increase in the prices o f new trucks in fiscal 2020. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic and the sharp economic contraction.

The Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) had floated emergency bids for two cargoes to be supplied in November, as the firms involved, Gunvor and ENI, had defaulted on their commitments. The PLL has short- and long-term agreements with Gunvor and the ENI for one LNG cargo each every month, but both suppliers refused to honour their part of the agreements.

Accordingly, petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged for the third consecutive day on Sunday under the daily price revision mechanism followed by oil marketing companies. So, the pump price of petrol in Delhi, which fell to Rs 103.97 a litre at 6 a.m. on Thursday from previous days level of Rs 110.04 a litre, remains at the same level onSunday.

As per the latest price build on petrol and diesel given by IndianOil, the base price of diesel in Delhi stands at Rs 49.33 per litre as on November 4 when lower fuel prices became effective after tax cuts by the Centre and the states. But the total tax component over the base price stands at Rs 34.48 per litre - a lot lower than earlier level when tax component on the fuel stood at Rs 44.84 a litre at a base price of Rs 41.41 a litre.

Accordingly, the pump price of petrol in Delhi, which fell to Rs 103.97 a litre at 6 a.m. on Thursday from previous day's level of Rs 110.04 a litre, remains at the same level on Friday. The diesel prices also remained unchanged in the capital at Rs 86.67 a litre. In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol continues to be priced at Rs 109.98 a litre and diesel Rs 94.14 a litre.

The Centre on Wednesday announced that excise duty will be reduced by Rs 5 for petrol and Rs 10 for diesel from November 4. Following up on Centre's call for a commensurate cut in taxes on fuel by the states, about a dozen state governments from Uttarakhand in the north to Karnataka in the south have also reduced VAT rate on petrol and diesel to provide bigger gain of price reduction to consumers.

Accordingly, the pump price of petrol in Delhi fell to Rs 103.97 a litre at 6 a.m. on Thursday from the previous day's level of Rs 110.04 a litre. The diesel prices fell by a bigger margin to Rs 86.67 a litre in the city from the earlier level of Rs 98.42, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

Diesel and petrol in Uttar Pradesh will now be cheaper by Rs 12 per litre and the new rates will come into effect from Thursday. The pre-Diwali announcement that came around midnight is a massive relief for people with petrol prices having touched a high of Rs 106.96 per litre in the state on Wednesday and diesel at Rs 98.91 per litre.

The excise duty will be reduced by Rs 5 for petrol and Rs 10 for diesel from November 4. Domestic prices of both fuels have touched record highs on the back of a steep rise in crude oil cost. Petrol has already breached the Rs 100 per litre mark and above in several cities, whereas, diesel is not far behind. The rise in transport fuels had raised concerns over a build-up of inflationary pressure which has even concerned the RBI.

However, unlike in the past, oil marketing companies (OMC) only raised the pump price of petrol on Tuesday while keeping diesel rates unchanged. Accordingly, the pump price of petrol in Delhi increased by 35 paisa per litre to jump to Rs 110.04 a litre, while diesel prices remained at Monday's level of Rs 98.42 a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.