Ever since the astronomical rise in prices of Brent crude in the international market and the weakening rupee against the dollar, the fuel prices of Petrol and Diesel in the Indian markets were at an all-time high.
However, now the country is witnessing a steady decline in petrol and diesel rates in the last several weeks. To understand the quantum of reduction in prices of fuel, We have analysed the reduction in rates of fuel in four metro cities: Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
Mumbai
From the high of Rs. 91.39 on October 4, 2018, the rates have come down 12.3% to Rs. 80.12/litre on November 23, 2018. In the month of November alone, the petrol rates have come down approximately 5.6% in the city of Mumbai.
Similarly, from the high of Rs. 80.15/litre for diesel in Mumbai, the price has drastically come down to Rs. 72.65/litre, a reduction of 9.3% in a matter of a few weeks.
New Delhi
In the last 20 days, there has been a marked decrease in the prices of fuel in the Nation’s capital New Delhi. Petrol which was available at Rs. 84.06 in early October is now available at Rs. 74.58, a reduction of staggering 11.27%.
Whereas the current price of Diesel in New Delhi is Rs. 69.38/litre. The decline is about 8.3% from the high of Rs. 75.74/litre around mid-October.
Bengaluru
Petrol was soaring at Rs. 84.72/litre on October 4 in the Southern metropolis of Bengaluru. Since then, there has been a fall in the prices and it is currently almost 11% cheaper from its high at Rs. 75.17/litre.
The diesel was at a high of Rs. 75.89/litre last month. It has firmly come down from mid-October and is at Rs. 69.74/litre, down about 8.1%.
Kolkata
Petrol prices saw a steep fall of about 10.3% to Rs. 76.94/litre this month from its high of Rs. 85.8/litre in the last month in the city of Kolkata.
Diesel prices in Kolkata were at unprecedented levels around 18th of October, 2018 at around Rs. 77.54/litre. Since then, there has been a downward trend in the prices of Diesel in Kolkata. The current price of Diesel in Kolkata is about Rs. 71.55/litre and is 7.7% down from its high.
If the price decline in the 4 largest metropolitan cities are averaged out, Petrol prices have declined by almost Rs 10, Diesel by Rs 6.5 in the last 8 weeks.
It is also anticipated by think tanks across the world that the prices of Brent crude might go down further, resulting in an additional decline in the fuel prices.
But as the prices of fuel have been firmly going down, in the last couple of weeks, in particular, the praise around the declining fuel prices haven’t matched the decibels the soaring prices of fuel did. In fact, the brickbats and the praise should not accrue to the Modi government since the prices of Petrol would follow the international markets. However, opposition’s selectivity reaks of political opportunism.
Note: The data collected for the above representation is as of November 26, 2018, and sourced from Mypetrolprice.
