No relief from soaring petrol, diesel prices

Even as crude oil prices declined for the fourth consecutive day on Friday after tensions between the US and Iran subsided, the consumers in India do not seem to be getting relief from the rising prices of petrol and diesel.

Petrol became costlier by 15 paise a litre in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. And, diesel prices increased by 11 paise a litre in Delhi and Kolkata, while in Mumbai and Chennai it increased by 12 paise a litre. Petrol and diesel prices have also increased in other cities and regions of the country.

According to the website of Indian Oil, the price of petrol in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai has increased to Rs 75.96, Rs 78.54, Rs 81.55 and Rs 78.92 per litre respectively.

At the same time, the price of diesel in the four metros has also increased to Rs 69.05, Rs 71.42, Rs 72.41 and Rs 72.97 per litre respectively.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil was trading at Rs 4,224 per barrel with a weakening of Rs 13 from the previous session. On January 6, the price of crude oil on MCX jumped to Rs 4,670 per barrel, after which it has fallen by about Rs 450 per barrel.

Brent crude's March delivery contract on the international futures market Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), was trading 0.65 per cent lower than the previous session at $ 65.16 a barrel. Brent crude closed at $ 68.91 a barrel on ICE on January 6, after which it has fallen by more than three dollars.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX, the US light crude was trading at $ 59.37 a barrel, down 0.32 percent in the February contract of the West Texas Intermediate ( WTI).IANS