In a big relief to the common man, the Central Government had announced a reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.8 and Rs.6 per liter respectively, so that the price of petrol and diesel will be at least Rs.9.5 and upto Rs.7 cheaper to the common man. Since then, oil prices have remained stable for the last 23 days.
Petrol and diesel prices in all four metros:
In Delhi petrol is available at ₹96.72 and diesel ₹89.62 per liter
In Mumbai petrol is available at ₹109.27 and diesel ₹95.84 per liter
In Chennai petrol is available at ₹102.63 and diesel ₹94.24 per liter
In Kolkata petrol is available at ₹106.03 and diesel ₹92.76 per liter
Meanwhile, Oil gained as traders weighed prospects for higher near-term demand against a potential slowdown triggered by aggressive US monetary tightening.
West Texas Intermediate edged above above $110 a barrel as the week opened after plunging almost 7% on Friday, when concerns about the fallout from far higher US interest rates rattled financial markets. At the weekend, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned drivers of a “continued upward pull on demand," and the likelihood of sustained high gasoline prices.
Oil has soared in 2022 as the war in Ukraine disrupted supplies just as energy consumption increased following the pandemic. WTI, the US crude benchmark, is headed for a record-setting ninth consecutive quarterly increase, contributing to rampant inflation. Last week, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 75 basis points to tame the pace of price gains, and leading policy makers have vowed to keep going until the fastest inflation in decades starts to ebb.
While the US projected in its June short-term outlook that local pump prices will average about $4.27 a gallon in the third quarter, the forecast could be “completely upended" by world events, for instance if the European Union were to fully cut off Russian oil, Granholm told CNN’s “State of the Union."
