Petrol and diesel prices held steady on August 19, the latest price notification issued by fuel retailers showed. The prices have stayed unchanged for more than a month.
Petrol in Mumbai is being sold for Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel for Rs 94.27. Petrol and Diesel in Delhi costs Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre. Petrol and diesel are priced at Rs 102.63 and Rs 94.24 in Chennai and at Rs 106.03 and Rs 92.76 in Kolkata.
Oil marketing companies are reportedly incurring a loss of Rs 13.08 a litre on petrol and Rs 24.09 on diesel. India meets 80 percent of its fuel needs through imports.
Govt reviews windfall gains tax, cuts cess on crude
In its third fortnightly review of windfall gains tax, the Government of India on August 18 cut the cess on crude oil and reduced it to Rs 13,000/tonne from Rs 17,750 per tonne.
According to a circular issued by the Centre, the export duty on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was hiked to Rs 2 per litre from nil while the export duty on diesel was hiked by two rupees to Rs 7 per litre from Rs 5 per litre.
The changes will come into force on August 19, 2022.
In the previous review meets, the export duties on petrol and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) were removed by the government.
Oil edges higher on optimism for firmer crude demand
Oil prices edged higher in early trade on Friday, extending a rally into a third day, as investors weighed hopes for strong fuel demand after a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stocks, brushing off worries about a global economic slowdown.
Brent crude futures climbed 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $96.66 a barrel by 0030 GMT after settling 3.1% higher on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.65 a barrel, up 15 cents, or 0.2%, following a 2.7% increase in the previous session.
Still, the benchmark contracts were headed for weekly losses of about 1.5%.
"The oil market gained as bullish U.S. weekly data bolstered optimism for improved fuel demand for the near-term," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.
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