Petrol, Diesel Prices Cut Marginally For The Second Day
Petrol now costs Rs 86.16 a litre and diesel Rs 73.73 per litre in Mumbai.
State-run oil retailers cut auto fuel prices marginally for the second day in a row after increasing them for 16 consecutive days.
The price of petrol was cut by 7 paise to Rs 86.16 a litre in Mumbai and diesel rates were cut by 5 paise to Rs 73.73 per litre, according to the data available on Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.’s website. The prices are still close to their all-time high levels hit on Monday, after oil retailers raised fuel prices for 16 straight days following a 19-day freeze in the run up to the Karnataka assembly election.
The rally in oil prices--that took Brent crude to the $80-mark for the first time since 2014--stalled last week after Saudi Arabia and Russia proposed easing output curbs after eliminating an inventory surplus that had sparked the biggest price crash in a generation.
Kerala Becomes First State To Cut Fuel Tax
The Kerala government, yesterday decided to cut petrol and diesel prices by Re 1 per litre from June by slashing sales tax, becoming the first state in the country to cut fuel rates, according to a PTI report.
The decision to reduce fuel prices was taken despite the state facing severe financial difficulties, the news agency reported, quoting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It stated further that Vijayan urged the central government to take a cue from the state and cut fuel rates as it is causing burden to consumers.
Opposition Slams Modi For 1 Paisa Cut
The Indian National Congress, yesterday, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the fuel rates were cut by a token one paisa and called it a ‘cruel joke’ on people, PTI reported.
The move came after oil marketers yesterday triggered confusion early morning over the quantum of fuel price cut. Indian Oil, according to information on its website on May 30, lowered petrol prices by 60 paise a litre and diesel by 56 paise. Within hours, it rolled back most of that. At the end of it, prices of auto fuels came down by just a paisa.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and questioned the one-paisa cut, and said that it was childish and in poor taste if it was a prank.