After 20 days, no hike in petrol, diesel prices

In a respite to the common man, petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on Wednesday even as rupee tumbled to a new low marking another fall in the dollar-rupee exchange rate.

The increase in prices of the two fuels were halted after almost 20 days during which petrol prices climbed up by Rs 2.11 paise per litre and diesel by Rs 2.62 a

Petrol was being sold at Rs 79.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 71.34 per litre in Delhi. This is an all-time high rate for the two fuels.

They are the costliest in Mumbai followed by Chennai and Kolkata.

The respite came a day after the Opposition parties launched an attack on the government with the Congress demanding bringing petrol and diesel under GST immediately.

The Naveen-Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal said it would resort to a protest in Odisha on Friday and Saturday against an all-time high rate.

TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu too had mocked the government on the rising prices saying soon petrol prices would touch Rs 100 a litre and rupee too would be 100 against a dollar.

Voices of dissent also started emerging from within the BJP after senior leader Subramanian Swamy said anything above Rs 48 per litre for petrol was an exploitation of public.

Though the oil marketing companies did not say anything on why they did not resort to the daily price change in petrol and diesel, industry sources said the government may have asked them to bear the brunt of costlier crude oil import.
Globally, however, the crude prices fell on Wednesday as tropical storm Gordon weakened reducing the threat to oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico.