After the Centre and state governments revised taxes, offering much-needed relief to customers who had been subjected to a steady rise in rates, but the fuel prices in the country remained unchanged on Monday.
As a result, under the daily price adjustment procedure used by oil marketing corporations, gasoline and diesel prices remained unchanged for the 11th consecutive day.
The price of fuel at the pump in Delhi stayed unchanged on Monday after falling to Rs 103.97 per litre at 6 a.m. on November 4.
Diesel prices in the capital remained constant at Rs 86.67 per litre.
In the financial capital Mumbai, petrol continued to be priced at Rs 109.98 a litre and diesel Rs 94.14 a litre.
Prices also remained static on Monday in Kolkata where the price of petrol was reduced by Rs 5.82 to Rs 104.67 per litre and that of diesel by Rs 11.77 to Rs 89.79 per litre in the first week of November.
Petrol price in Chennai stood at Rs 101.40 per litre and diesel at Rs 91.43 per litre.
Across the country as well, the price of the fuel largely remained unchanged on Monday but the retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes.
The global crude prices which touched a three-year high of over $85 a barrel on several occasions in the past month, has softened now to around $ 81.5 a barrel. The rise in the US inventory has pushed down crude prices but a decision by the OPEC+ on the only gradual increase in production in December could raise crude prices further. This could put pressure on oil companies to revise fuel prices upwards again.
Diesel prices have climbed on 30 of the previous 52 days prior to the price cuts and hiatus, raising the retail price by Rs 9.90 per litre in Delhi.
Petrol prices have also risen in 28 of the preceding 48 days, resulting in an increase of Rs 8.85 per litre at the pump.
Prior to the duty decreases, the prices of the two fuels have risen by more than Rs 26 per litre since January 1, 2021.
The Centre’s excise duty reduction on November 3 was the first since the Covid epidemic began in early 2020.
To raise more funds for Covid relief initiatives, the government slashed the excise duty on gasoline and diesel in March and May of last year.
(With IANS inputs)