Petrol slide down by 21 paise, sensex by 106 pts and rupee by 9 paise

Mumbai, December 4: Value of rupee on today has depreciated by 9 paise, counting to Rs. 70.55 against the US dollar in early trade at the interbank foreign exchange, surrounded by the strengthening of US dollar and rising crude oil prices.

The rupee opened lower at 70.50 a dollar and dropped further to quote at 70.55. Later it closed down by 9 paise down over its previous close. Forex dealers have analysed that fresh demand for the American currency from importers and rise in crude prices weighed on the domestic unit.

However it is estimated that the petrol and diesel may soon become cheaper in the national capital city as compared to adjoining cities of Uttar Pradesh. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.5 per litre in October. With petrol prices at their lowest in this financial year, the government may reverse the reduction in excise duty, according to reports. A cut in excise duty by Re 1 adversely affects government revenue by Rs 14,000 crore.

Petrol prices in Delhi Tuesday stood at Rs 71.72 a litre as compared to Rs 71.15 in Ghaziabad and Rs 71.28 in Noida. A litre of diesel in the national capital is priced at Rs 66.39 as opposed to Rs 65.31 in Ghaziabad and Rs 65.44 in Noida. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark dropped over 106 points simultaneously during mixed clues from other Asian markets, internationally rising crude prices, weak rupee and heavy selling by foreign investors.

The 30-share index was trading 106 points lower at 36,134.31 at the closing hours. In similar movement, the NSE Nifty was trading 14.25 points measuring 0.13%, down at 10869.50. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) however have made fresh purchases worth Rs 293.12 crore on Monday.