Deora rules out cut in petrol prices

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New Delhi: The Government on Tuesday ruled out any immediate cut in petrol and diesel prices in line with fall in global oil prices, but said a reduction may be considered once crude prices fall below $50 a barrel.

"It is not appropriate to cut prices. When crude touches $50 a barrel, we may think about that," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

Deora said international prices have reduced during the last two weeks, but they need to fall further to give reprieve to consumers and oil companies.

International crude oil prices fell below $60 a barrel in recent days after touching a record high of $78.40 in July.

Government had in June raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 3 and Rs 2 a litre respectively as a fallout of spike in crude oil prices.

However, the hike was not commensurate enough to cover for the rise in cost of raw material (crude oil) and public sector oil companies were asked to bear a substantial part of the loss on fuel sale.

While the fall in crude prices has resulted in oil companies breaking even on selling petrol, they were still losing over Rs 5 per litre on diesel. Besides, selling kerosene and LPG continued to be a loss-making proposition.