The retail prices of petrol and diesel remained unchanged on Tuesday, continuing a 36-day freeze on the automobile fuel rates across the country. Meanwhile, oil prices plunged below zero as demand for energy collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the official website of Indian Oil Corporation, on Tuesday, petrol now costs Rs 69.59 per litre in Delhi, Rs 76.31 per litre in Mumbai. Similarly, diesel costs Rs 62.29 a litre in Delhi, Rs 66.21 a litre in Mumbai. In Kolkata, a litre of petrol will cost Rs 73.30 per litre whereas diesel is now priced at Rs 65.62 per litre. In Chennai, a litre of petrol will cost Rs 72.28 per litre whereas diesel is now priced at Rs 65.71 per litre.
For the first time in history US oil prices turned negative. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery shed more than 300 percent to settle at -37.63 USD per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Xinhua reported.
The May benchmark fell into negative territory, suggesting people who had oil to sell were willing to pay to have it taken off their hands. The problem is that the US is running out of places to store its oil which is already being stockpiled on barges at sea, the Times reported.
At Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil contract expiring on April 20 settled at Rs 965 per barrel, down by Rs 471 or 32.80 per cent from the previous session. The most active May contract also settled at Rs 1,755 per barrel, down by Rs 159 or 12.86 per cent from the last session.
(Inputs from Agencies)
