Petrol, diesel prices decline across major cities. Check rates here

Petrol and diesel prices declined on Tuesday by about 5 paise and 11 paise respectively in major cities. Petrol stood at Rs 78.52 a litre, while diesel was at Rs 69.69 per litre in Mumbai.

According to the Indian Oil Corporation data, petrol costs Rs 72.90 per litre and diesel Rs 66.49 a litre in New Delhi. In Kolkata and Chennai, the petrol price stood at Rs 75.12 per litre and Rs 75.70 per litre while diesel was at Rs 68.48 per litre and Rs 70.23 a litre, respectively.

Prices of both petrol and diesel rose on Saturday after the government in the Union Budget on Friday announced that it will levy additional excise duty of Rs 2 per litre.

Of the Rs 2 hike, the road infra cess of Re 1 will go to the road ministry for infrastructure while the special duty of Re 1 will go to the revenue department.

Oil fell on Tuesday amid worries over the outlook for demand after the latest signs that international trade disputes have been dragging on the global economy, although tensions in the Middle East offered some support to prices. Brent crude futures were down 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $63.90 a barrel by 0022 GMT. They fell 12 cents on Monday.

In September last year, opposition parties had called for a Bharat Bandh to protest against the steep rise in fuel prices in India. They had also demanded an immediate reduction in central excise duty and excessive VAT in various states.

In October that year, the government reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre, stating that the oil marketing companies would absorb the impact to the tune of Re 1 a litre.