Petrol price has been cut by nearly Rs 2 per litre and diesel by Re 1 a litre in the last eight days on the back of softer international rates, an official statement said Friday.

Petrol price has been reduced by Rs 1.98 per litre and diesel by Rs 0.96 a litre during the last eight days. In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 80.85 per litre and diesel is priced at Rs 74.73 a litre, it said.

The rates are off their record high of Rs 84 per litre for petrol and Rs 75.45 a litre for diesel touched on October 4.

On that day, the government decided to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each and asked state-owned fuel retailers to subsidise by another Re 1 a litre by reducing their margins.

Subsequent to this, the petrol price came down to Rs 81.50 per litre and diesel at Rs 72.95 a litre on October 5, the statement said. "As the international oil prices continued to rise, price of petrol and diesel in Delhi increased to Rs 82.83 per litre and Rs 75.69 per litre. (But) since last eight days, international oil prices have been falling and rupee has also appreciated," the statement said.

The twin factors have brought down fuel prices to a six-week low. "As per the assessment, the retail prices of petrol and diesel may reign easy in the next few days," it said.

The retail selling price of petrol and diesel is dependent on the international prices of benchmark fuel and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate. "This is because a large proportion of country's requirement is met through imports," the statement added.