Petrol price cut by Rs 2.38 a litre

New Delhi:State run oil marketing companies will cut petrol price by Rs 2.18 a litre in Delhi from Thursday midnight due to softening of international crude oil prices. In other states there will be corresponding decrease in petrol price depending on local taxes, which will range from Rs 1.89-2.38 per litre.

This is the second reduction in rates in a month and the steepest in 11 months. It is perhaps for the first time that the petrol price cut has been announced a day earlier. Oil companies usually announced the price revision only on the eve of the change being effected. This is because petrol pump owners will refuse to take petrol supply if fuel price cut is announced days before the prices are actually slashed. This risks petrol pump running dry and consumer facing problems in getting the fuel.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced the cut in petrol prices on the micro blogging site Twitter. “Price of petrol will be reduced from midnight of 14/15 August 2014 in the range of Rs 1.89-2.38 (Rs 2.18/litre at Delhi),” he tweeted.

Petrol prices were deregulated from government control in June 2010. The last price revision of petrol was effected on 1st August when prices were reduced by Rs 0.90 a litre (excluding state levies) resulting in retail selling price at Delhi going down by Rs 1.09 a litre.