Fuel prices on Wednesday witnessed a drop of 1 paisa. The price of petrol on Wednesday is at Rs 78.42 a litre in Delhi, Rs 86.23 in Mumbai while diesel stood at Rs 69.30 a litre in Delhi, Rs 73.78 in Mumbai. After 16 days of continuous hike, there was cheer on Wednesday morning as the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) website showed that the petrol prices have been cut down by up to 60 paise while diesel price went down by 59 paise. But the joy was short-lived as the actual reduction in price was just 1 paisa. “The reduction was supposed to be 1 paisa but due to a clerical error the price prevalent on May 25 was communicated as today’s price,” PTI quoted a senior official of IOCL as saying. The reduction comes after 16 consecutive price increases since May 14 when fuel retailers ended a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to pass on a spike in global oil rates. In all, petrol price was increased by Rs 3.8 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.38 in that fortnight. Prices vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or VAT. Delhi has the cheapest price among all metros and most state capitals.