Petrol and diesel prices held steady on July 19, the latest price notification issued by fuel retailers showed. Fuel prices have stayed unchanged for more than a month.
Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Eknath Shinde had announced a cut in value added tax (VAT) of Rs 5 per litre for petrol and of Rs 3 per litre for diesel.
The price cut was announced by the CM after a state cabinet meeting on July 14. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis hailed the decision as a “great relief to Maharashtrian and Marathi Manus”.
After a VAT cut by the Maharashtra government, petrol in Mumbai is being sold for Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel for Rs 94.27. Petrol and diesel are priced at Rs 102.63 and Rs 94.24 respectively in Chennai while in Kolkata petrol costs Rs 106.03 and diesel Rs 92.76.
Reportedly, oil marketing companies are 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.
Also Read | India's fuel demand falls in July as monsoon sets in
India’s demand for petrol and diesel fell in the first half of July over the previous month as the onset of monsoon chipped away consumption in some sectors and restricted mobility, preliminary industry data showed on July 17.
Diesel, the most widely used fuel in the country, saw consumption drop 13.7 per cent during July 1-15 to 3.16 million tonnes from 3.67 million tonnes in the same period of the previous month.
The arrival and intensity of monsoon weighs heavily on diesel demand in the country and consumption traditionally is lower in July-September than in April-June.
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