New Delhi: On Thursday (April 18), State-run oil marketing companies kept the retail petrol and diesel prices unchanged for the second successive day across major cities of the country. In national capital Delhi, petrol is being sold for Rs 72.93 a litre while diesel costs Rs 66.31 per litre, no change compared with yesterday’s rates. It is worth noting that the retail prices of fuel in Delhi are the cheapest among all metros and most state capitals due to lower taxes. In Kolkata, petrol and diesel are selling for Rs 74.95 a litre and Rs 68.05 a litre, according to data available with Indian Oil Corp website. Similarly, petrol is retailing at Rs 78.50 per litre and diesel can be availed at 69.40 a litre in Kolkata, no change in rates as against Wednesday’s prices.

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People in Chennai have pay Rs 75.69 for a litre of petrol while diesel retailed at Rs 70.01 per litre. In Noida also, petrol and diesel prices remained static at Rs 72.25 and at Rs 65.40 a litre, respectively.  In Gurugram, petrol, diesel prices remained unchanged at Rs 72.79 and Rs 65.51 respectively.

So far this year, the price of petrol was increased by about Rs 4 a litre and that of diesel by about Rs 5 a litre. The fuel price in the country is dependent on the global crude prices and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate as India imports 80 per cent of its crude requirements.

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On Thursday, in the international oil market, crude prices fell despite a surprise drop in US inventories. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at USD 71.51 per barrel, down 11 cents, or 0.2 per cent, from their last close. During the last one month, crude oil prices rose about 7 per cent, with Brent crude past 70/dollar mark, and this rise has increased India’s import bills.