Fuel Prices on February 3: Check petrol, diesel rates in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated the money under the head "capital support to oil marketing companies". It offered no explanation why the blue chip, cash rich oil PSUs should need capital support.

Oil prices made modest gains in early trade on February 3, but were heading for a second straight week of losses, as the market looked for more signs of a strong recovery in fuel demand in China to offset looming slumps in other major economies.

Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $82.33 a barrel at 0110 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $76.06 a barrel.

So far this week, Brent has dropped by 4.8 percent, extending a 1.1 percent loss from the previous week. WTI has fallen by 4.5 percent after sliding 2 percent in the prior week.

Mixed signs of a fuel demand recovery in China, the world's top oil importer, have kept a lid on the market.

ANZ analysts pointed to a sharp jump in traffic in China's 15 largest cities following the Lunar New Year holiday, but also noted that Chinese traders had been "relatively absent" from markets.

The prospect of an economic rebound in China after COVID-19 curbs eased has buoyed the oil market so far this year, along with a weaker dollar that makes the commodity cheaper for those holding other currencies.

(With Inputs from Reuters)