The caretaker government on Monday slashed the price of petrol by Rs8 per litre while the price of high speed diesel was kept unchanged.

With the annoncement, the petrol price now stands at Rs259.34 per litre as against the previous price of Rs267.34/litre.

The price of HSD was kept unchanged at Rs276.21 per litre.

In the internationa market, oil prices dipped on Monday as Middle East conflict’s limited impact on crude output prompted profit taking after oil benchmarks gained 2% last week, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures were down 49 cents at $77.80 a barrel by 1051 GMT and US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 51 cents to to $72.17.

Several tanker owners steered clear of the Red Sea and multiple tankers changed course on Friday after US and Britain launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iran-backed group’s attacks on shipping in response to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

It was expected that the prices could come down as a result of multiple factors including the downward trends in the international prices of oil.

The exchange rate of the US dollar against the rupee also improved in recent days and last closed at Rs280.24, a total appreciation of Rs3.

Earlier this month, energy experts said that crude oil prices were expected to remain low in early 2024 due to lower demand and higher oil output.

Crude oil supply was more than demand, according to Saumil Gandhi, senior analyst of commodities at HDFC Securities.

“For the first half of 2024, we expect Brent (crude) to range between $60-65 per barrel (lower band) and $85-90 per barrel (upper band).”

In December, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) agreed to cut output by nearly one million barrels per day (bpd) by early 2024. Such a decision led to a total cut in production above 2.2 million bpd, or about 2% of the world supply.

But experts warned that only geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could fuel the oil prices up.