Odisha is the eleventh largest state in India by population. Bhubaneswar is the capital city of Odisha. Cuttack and Raurkela are other two prime cities in Odisha with a huge number of industrial units. As far as the consumption of diesel is concerned, Odisha is one the biggest diesel consumers in India. Diesel is not a domestic commodity. It is derived from crude oil, which is imported by Indian oil marketing on a contractual basis. Therefore, the diesel price varies based on crude oil prices and the INR/USD exchange rate.
Diesel Price in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela (Diesel Price per litre)
In Bhubaneswar, the diesel price has moved in an upward trend in the first week of November 2017. On 1 October 2017, the fuel rate was Rs.63.18 that reduced to Rs.61.18 on 04 October 2017. We can spot a decreasing trend in October 2017. The fuel was sold at the highest rate of Rs.63.42 and at the lowest price of Rs.60.97 in October 2017. On the opening day of September 2017, in Bhubaneswar, diesel was priced at Rs.61.25 that further rose to Rs.63.12 on the closing day of the month. It means that the fuel price was down by 2.12%.
The current diesel rate in Cuttack has been moving in an upward trend in November 2017. If we look at monthly rates, fuel prices were not consistent in the city. On 1 October 2017, the fuel price was Rs.63.43 and was Rs.61.49 on 1 September 2017. On 1 July 2017, the fuel was priced less. In Rourkela, the fuel rate has moved in a rising trend in the first week of November 2017. Diesel was priced at Rs.64.85 on 1 October 2017. On 1 September 2017, the price was Rs.54.61. We can spot a slight variation in the current diesel price in all parts of the state because of dealer commission.
Trend in Diesel Price in Odisha between January 2018 and March 2018
| January | February | March | |
| Opening date price | Rs.64.08 a litre | Rs.68.76 a litre | Rs.66.82 a litre |
| Closing date price | Rs.68.66 a litre | Rs.66.64 a litre | Rs.69.09 a litre |
| Highest price | Rs.68.66 a litre recorded on 31st | Rs.68.87 a litre recorded on 6th | Rs.69.09 a litre recorded on 31st |
| Lowest price | Rs.64.08 a litre on recorded on 1st | Rs.66.63 a litre booked on 25th | Rs.66.82 a litre recorded on 1st |
| Trend | Upward | Downward | Upward |
| % Change | +7.14% | -3.08% | +3.39% |
Trend in Diesel Price in Odisha in January 2018
- Because of transportation overheads, you can detect a price variation of 13 paise a litre between the diesel prices in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the two biggest cities in Odisha as of 1st January 2018.
- Dynamic fuel pricing, a fuel price revision framework deployed last year, revises the fuel rate regularly bearing in mind the disparities in the price of unrefined oil and the exchange rate of the INR versus the base currency, the USD.
- In January 2018, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil neither declined the fuel price nor retained the same range of price until the last day. In fact, fuel rates have gone up successively.
- The USD/INR conversion rate from Rs.63.69 reduced to Rs.63.53 a litre on 15th, and on 31st, Rs.63.56. Similarly, crude oil was priced in excess of $66 per barrel by the end of the month.
- In consequence, the weekly growth rate of the diesel price in Odisha has increased continually. For instance, in the first week, the average price of diesel stood at Rs.64.39 a litre.
- At a growth rate of 2.15%, diesel accrued its price to Rs.65.78 a litre during the second week. Almost the same trend was seen in the subsequent weeks.
Trend in Diesel Prices in Odisha in February 2018
- Modi-led Government declared the budget for the FY 2018-2019 on 1st February 2018. Regardless of a few variations in the current tax framework, fuel buyers observed no changes as far as the fuel rate is concerned.
- Unlike January, in this month, in tandem with overseas facets, the offer was increased at the beginning and depreciated towards the end. So, Indian Oil unveiled the highest fuel rate for the month to be Rs.68.87 a litre on 6th.
- Oil extracting countries have reported a steep downfall with regard to the demand for crude oil and however, the average diesel rate in parts of Odisha has been lower compared to that of in the earlier month.
- Also, the exchange rate was reported to be highly hot-blooded on the Forex Market (FX Market). To some degree, it affected the crusade of the diesel prices in February 2018.
- In the end, a price drop of 3.08% was confirmed by Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum across the state. Other Indian states also experienced the same result in February 2018.
- Since the lowest rate fell on 25th at Rs.66.63 a litre, the price range gradually increased over the succeeding three days. The offers stood at Rs.66.66 a litre, Rs.66.64 a litre and Rs.66.64 a litre on 26th, 27th and 28th respectively.
Trend in Diesel Rate in Odisha in March 2018
- As projected, in emerging nations, crude oil ensued an extensive range of demand at the beginning of March 2018. Thus, once again, the opening day rate was hiked by 18 paise.
- Based on the trend in the Forex and crude oil markets, diesel prices in Odisha have travelled upwards until 31st like January 2018.
- The first week closed at Rs.67.59 a litre, the second week at Rs.67.49 a litre, the third week at Rs.67.5 a litre, and the last week at Rs.68.41 a litre. In the end, the fuel rate was up 3.39% to Rs.69.09 a litre on 31st.
- Because of a massive fall in crude oil costs and a gained USD in February 2018, the growth rate in March 2018 was lower compared to that of in January 2018.
- Both the central and state governments’ taxes were retained unchanged in Odisha, which means a price rise of 7.81% has been triggered only by the increased crude oil expenses this quarter.
- BPCL, HPCL and IOCL proclaimed the highest and lowest fuel prices between January 2018 and March 2018 to be Rs.69.09 a lite and Rs.68.66 a litre correspondingly.