Petrol, diesel prices on 17 April: Fuel rates today in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and other cities

Petrol, diesel prices on 17 April: Petrol and diesel prices at state-run outlets remain largely unchanged on Thursday, 17 April, in India’s domestic market. However, aviation fuel and commercial gas prices continue to reflect earlier volatility caused by the disruption in energy supply chain due to ongoing West Asia conflict.

The anxiety among investors over Strait of Hormuz blockade and global shortage of fuel supply spilled over to fuel prices and can be seen in oil rates worldwide since the Middle East conflict began on 28 February. As of 10:00 AM, retail fuel rates in major cities of India remained stable as the government stepped in to control inflation.

Check petrol prices in your city on 17 April

Check diesel prices in your city on 17 April

The Indian currency registered gains as compared to other Asian peers after the Reserve Bank of India report urged state-owned oil refiners to route their dollar purchases through a special credit facility. The rupee gained as much as 0.5% to 92.7738 per dollar on Friday.

“The news of the RBI asking state refiners to buy dollars using special window instead of in market has led to dollar/rupee opening lower,” Bloomberg quoted head of treasury at RBL Bank Ltd Anshul Chandak. He added “The optimism around the extension of US-Iran talks is also supporting.”

According to Reuters report, the central bank asked refiners to tap a special credit line for their foreign exchange requirements through the country’s largest lender State Bank of India. The RBI instructed lenders to limit their onshore open positions to $100 million and at the same time barred them from offering non-deliverable forward contracts to clients.

With Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp being among the biggest dollar buyers in the currency market to pay for their crude oil imports, RBI encouraged refiners to route dollar purchases via SBI instead of multiple banks.

After the Iran war broke out, the rupee hit successive lows versus the dollar but has recovered some losses after the central took measure in to prevent speculation in the currency market.

Indian equity benchmarks reflected cautious investor sentiment on Friday amid mixed global cues as they opened in the red zone. The NSE NIFTY 50 opened at 24,162.20 points at 9:17 am, marking a decline of 34.55 points or 0.14 per cent while BSE SENSEX was down by 34.55 points or 0.14 per cent and stood at 77,947.66 points.