2024-09-07 05:16:20
New Delhi: There is good news for the common people suffering from inflation. The price of petrol and diesel in the country may be reduced soon. The reason for this is that the price of crude oil has come down to the lowest level since January. This has increased the profit of oil marketing companies and there is scope for reduction in the price of petrol and diesel. There may be relief from the high price of petrol and diesel before the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. Currently, the price of petrol is more than Rs 100 in many cities of the country while diesel is also around Rs 90. The price of benchmark Brent crude affects India’s crude oil purchase cost. On Wednesday, its price remained at $ 73.58 per barrel. On Tuesday, its price fell by 5% and it reached close to this year’s record low. The price of crude oil has fallen especially due to sluggish demand in China. Experts say Libya’s return to the supply market, the OPEC+ group’s withdrawal of voluntary production cuts from October and the possibility of more supply due to increased production from sources outside the group are putting pressure on oil prices.
Petrol prices in India have increased 10 times in 34 years, how much has the rate increased in America during this period?
The margin has increased
The continuous fall in oil prices has increased the margins of fuel retailers, especially government oil marketing companies. These companies have a 90% share in the domestic market. The government had cut petrol and diesel prices by Rs 2 per liter on March 14, just before the general elections. This was the first cut in the price of petrol and diesel after May 2022. A report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services in April estimated that despite this cut, government companies earned a margin of more than Rs 2 per liter in April. Then the average price of crude oil for the Indian basket was $89.44 per barrel. By now it would have increased further as it averaged $76 in September.
But it is not clear yet whether the government will reduce the price of petrol and diesel or not. Financial services company UBS has bet on low supply in the oil market. It says that the price of crude oil may remain volatile in the near future. Goldman Sachs has also estimated it to remain at $70-85 per barrel. Even if the current low prices do not last long and stabilize at $85, the government will be in a comfortable position. Due to this, it can ask government retailers to voluntarily keep the price of petrol and diesel stable.
Petroleum exports to Europe from India increased by 253788%, who imports the most
Why did you not increase the price
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said in a recent post on microblogging site X that the whole world was facing 40-70% fuel inflation during the last three years but there was no increase in petrol and diesel prices in India. PM Narendra Modi did not want our people, especially the poor, to be affected by the increase.