Cruel joke: 1 paisa cut in fuel price
IOC initially put price slash at 60 paise
New Delhi, May 30: Petrol and diesel prices were on Wednesday cut by 1 paisa per litre each, the first reduction after 16 days of relentless price hikes that triggered derisive comments. But the marginal decline had its share of excitement with stateowned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) first announcing a reduction of 60 paise — the biggest since daily price revision was introduced in mid-June last year only to retract it within a couple of hours citing a technical error.
The oil companies on Wednesday morning announced reduction in petrol price by 60 paise to `77.83 a litre and diesel by 56 paise to `68.75 in Delhi. This was rectified to 1 paisa a litre.
“The reduction was supposed to be 1 paisa but due to a clerical error the price prevalent on May 25 was communicated as Wednesday’s price,” a senior official of IOC, the nation’s largest fuel retailer, explained.
“There is a softening in international oil prices and rupee has strengthened against the US dollar, making imports cheaper. All this will reflect in reduction in retail rates in coming days,” he said.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi was quick to slam the reduction saying if this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of a “prank”, it was “childish and in poor taste”. — PTI
New Delhi, May 30: Petrol and diesel prices were on Wednesday cut by 1 paisa per litre each, the first reduction after 16 days of relentless price hikes that triggered derisive comments.
The opposition parties have been demanding the government cut excise duty, which it had raised 9 times when oil prices had fallen between 2014 and early 2016, to give relief to consumers.
“Dear PM, You’ve cut the price of petrol and diesel today by 1 paisa. ONE paisa!?? If this is your idea of a prank, it’s childish and in poor taste,” Gandhi tweeted.
“P.S. A ONE paisa cut is not a suitable response to the ‘Fuel Challenge’ I threw you last week,” he said.
Oil companies use 15day rolling average of Singapore gasoline prices and Arab Gulf diesel prices to arrive at daily rates and so the fall in international oil rates seen in the last few days would be factored in for the revisions in the coming days, he said.
The price effected on Wednesday is based on average international rate from May 15 to May 29. For Thursday’s rate, the average from May 16 to May 30 will be taken.
Rates had on Tuesday touched an all-time high of `78.43 per litre for petrol and `69.31 a litre for diesel in Delhi.
Prices vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or VAT. Delhi has the cheapest price among all metros and most state capitals.
Later, IOC in a statement said: “There was a technical glitch in posting the selling prices of petrol and diesel. The selling prices of petrol and diesel with effect from May 30, 2018, have been rectified. on Wednesday, there is a minor reduction in fuel prices.”
The marginal reduction comes after 16 consecutive price increases since May 14 when fuel retailers ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to pass on a spike in global oil rates.
In all, petrol price was increased by `3.8 per litre and diesel by `3.38 in that fortnight. Prices vary depending on local sales tax or VAT. — PTI