NEW DELHI : With the extension of the coronavirus lockdown by another three weeks to May 3, the demand for petrol and diesel is unlikely to recover in India.
Faced with inventory losses, state-run fuel retailers have left petrol and diesel prices unchanged for 30 days in a row even as crude oil futures were trading below the $30 a barrel mark today.
On the contrary, states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal, saw a price hike of Re 1 to ₹1.5 a litre due to a hike in VAT by the state governments from April 1.
The central government had also raised excise duty on the two auto fuels by ₹3 a litre each but the resultant hike in prices was absorbed by falling crude oil rates.