Diwali-eve duty cut on petrol and diesel saddles pump owners

One person’s cheaper petrol can be another person’s poison.

The unexpected Diwali-eve duty cut on petrol and diesel has saddled pump owners with big stocks they bought at a higher price but can be sold only at lower rates.

Individually, consumers may not have gained much from the cuts that translate into gains of over Rs 5 a litre of petrol and over Rs 11 a litre of diesel after steep increases for several weeks.

But since each dealer holds several hundreds of litres of stocks bought at the old rates, he or she stands to lose a substantial amount, several pump owners across Bengal said on Friday.

A combination of factors appears to have played a part in dealing the blow to the dealers.