Petrol and diesel prices today: Fuel rates fall further, check rates in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai

Petrol and diesel prices today: With international crude oil rates under pressure due to outbreak of coronavirus in China, fuel prices in India fell again on the fifth consecutive day on Monday. The price of petrol was cut by 6 paise and that of diesel by 5 paise across all major cities. The petrol now costs Rs 73.04 a litre in Delhi, Rs 78.69 a litre in Mumbai, Rs 75.71 a litre in Kolkata and Rs 75.89 a litre in Chennai after the price cut.

Similarly, diesel costs Rs 66.09 a litre in Delhi, Rs 69.27 a litre in Mumbai, Rs 68.49 per litre in Kolkata and Rs 69.81 a litre in Chennai, according to the Indian Oil Corporation website.

This is the fifth consecutive day petrol and diesel prices were cut across all major cities.

Demand for fuel is likely to be on the lower side in the coming weeks as airlines are cancelling flights to China due to coronavirus, prompting slowdown in fuel consumption.

The retail prices of fuel are dependent on the international crude prices and the rupee-US dollar exchange rate as India imports almost 80 per cent of its crude requirements.

Domestic petrol and diesel prices are reviewed by oil marketing companies on a daily basis. Price revisions are implemented at the fuel stations with effect from 6 a.m.

Oil extends decline as virus hits China demand
Oil prices extended their losses on Monday, dragged down by worries about lower demand in China, the world`s largest oil importer, following a coronavirus outbreak there, Reuters reported.

Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell for a fourth week in a row last week after airlines cancelled flights to China. Supply chains across the world`s second-largest economy have also been disrupted, prompting its biggest refiner Sinopec to cut output.

Brent crude was at $56.14 a barrel by 0241 GMT, down 48 cents, or 0.9%, after losing nearly 12% in January, the steepest monthly decline since November 2018.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 24 cents to $51.32 a barrel, after earlier hitting a session low of $50.42. The front-month WTI price fell 15.6% in January, the biggest monthly drop since May.

China`s measures to support its economy might help put a floor under oil prices in the short term, even though the outlook for oil demand remains bearish, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney.

"The shuttering of airports suggests that there would be at least some demand delay, if not deferred or destroyed," he said.
China`s factory activity stalled in January as export orders fell, and analysts expect a big plunge in February`s data as the virus outbreak hits demand in the country.

China`s central bank planned to inject more liquidity to shore up its economy on Monday, and pledged over the weekend to use various monetary policy tools to help allay the impact of the virus outbreak.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies could bring forward a March meeting to February to discuss the impact on oil demand from the virus flare-up. Already, OPEC and non-OPEC`s Joint Technical Committee (JTC) have scheduled to meet in early February to assess the impact of the virus, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.

OPEC`s oil output plunged in January to the lowest since 2009 after several members led by Saudi Arabia over-delivered on a new agreement to cut production and as Libya`s supply slumped.

"They`ve done a good job of managing the price, but it is unexpected that demand would be impacted by something like a pandemic," Tony Nunan, a senior risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

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"The expectation is that in the next meeting that they will deepen the (production) cuts" to support prices, he said.