The central government has decided to reduce the central excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre with effect from October 4, 2017.
In the past few weeks, the prices of petrol and diesel have been rising steadily. The retail selling prices of petrol and diesel have touched Rs 70.88 per/ litre and Rs 59.14 per litre, respectively in Delhi as on October 3. With this reduction
prices of petrol and diesel will go done by Rs 2.50 per litre and Rs 2.25 per litre respectively in Delhi.
There has been a sharp increase in the price of petrol and diesel since June 16, when dynamic fuel pricing was implemented in the country, post which state-run fuel retailers — Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum are revising selling prices of petrol and diesel daily based on average international price in the preceding fortnight and the currency exchange rate.
The government is closely monitoring the developments in the prices of petrol and diesel in the international as well as domestic market. The government has acted swiftly to protect the interests of the common man as high fuel prices had also contributed to wholesale inflation rising to 3.44% in August from 1.88% in July, said a government statement on Tuesday.
In the overseas market, oil prices eased on Wednesday over caution that a price rally that lasted for most of the third quarter would not extend through the last three months of the year. The international benchmark for oil prices, brent crude futures, were down 35 cents, or 0.6%, at USD 55.65 a barrel.
The re-balancing of the international oil price is a result of strong consumption and also due to efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017 and the first quarter of next year.
The move to cut the excise duty will positively impact the economy has it would help inflation and indirectly boost growth by decreasing input costs in various sectors.
Source: indiainfoline.com