Breaking |

Breaking |

Petrol, diesel touch all time highs as oil companies hike rates
Published : May 20, 2018, 1:50 pm IST
Updated : May 20, 2018, 1:50 pm IST
SHARE ARTICLE
Petrol, diesel touch all time highs as oil companies hike rates
Petrol, diesel touch all time highs as oil companies hike rates

Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of INR 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of INR 67.57 as the oil...

Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of INR 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of INR 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of the relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. Petrol price on Sunday increased by 33 paisa a litre in India's capital city Delhi -- the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms. 

Revising auto fuel prices on a daily basis Revising auto fuel prices on a daily basis

Advertisement

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. Prices in Delhi are the cheapest in all metros and most state capitals. With this increase, petrol has touched an all-time-high, breaching the previous high of INR 76.06 touched in Delhi on September 14, 2013. Diesel rates are also at the all-time high level. This is the seventh straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, petrol price has been raised by INR 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last one week.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence taxesRates vary from state to state depending on the incidence taxes

In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes has led a price of INR 84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached INR 80 mark in Bhopal (INR 81.83 a litre), Patna (INR 81.73), Hyderabad (INR 80.76) and Srinagar (INR 80.35), according to the price notification. Petrol in Kolkatta costs INR 78.91 per litre while it is priced at INR 79.13 in Chennai. The cheapest petrol is available in Panjim where a litre comes for INR 70.26. 

Advertisement

Diesel is the costliest in Hyderabad were it is priced at INR 73.45 a litre due to high local taxes. It is priced at INR 73.34 in Trivandrum. Other cities where diesel rates have crossed INR 70 mark are Raipur (INR 72.96 a litre), Gandhinagar (INR 72.63), Bhubaneswar (INR 72.43), Patna (INR 72.24), Jaipur (INR 71.97), Ranchi (INR 71.35), Bhopal (INR 71.12) and Srinagar (INR 70.96). A litre of diesel costs INR 71.94 in Mumbai, INR 70.12 in Kolkatta and INR 71.32 in Chennai, the notification said. 

All of a sudden, everyone is talking about the hike in petrol and diesel priceAll of a sudden, everyone is talking about the hike in petrol and diesel price

Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair where it is priced at INR 63.35. On Friday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers. The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting USD 80 a barrel -- the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating.

Advertisement

Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra GargEconomic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg

Asked if the government would cut excise duty on petrol and diesel, he had stated that he has nothing to say on that front. "Just watch."  The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times -- totaling INR 11.77 per litre on petrol and INR 13.47 on diesel -- between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by INR 2 a litre.

No sooner had Karnataka polled to elect a new state government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) on Monday ended a hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices that began on April 25 and reverted to the 11-month old practices of changing rates on a daily basis. Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about INR 500 crore on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three-week hiatus.

Advertisement

Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd

The benchmark international rate for petrol, used for revising rate on April 24, had gone up from USD 78.84 per barrel to USD 84.97 on May 14. It has further risen to USD 84.97, indicating more daily hikes would be needed to level retail price with cost. Similarly, benchmark international diesel rates during this period have climbed from USD 84.68 per barrel to USD 90.28 pr barrel. Also, the rupee has weakened to INR 67.27 per US dollar from INR 66.62, making imports costlier.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi

SHARE ARTICLE

PTI

Advertisement
Advertisement

Exclusive Interview: Sports Minister Meet Hayer on the Cricket Pitch | Nimrat Kaur | SpokesmanTv

07 Nov 2023 5:55 PM

"Spokesman Di Sath" at Ghagwal Village, Major Revelations by villagers

09 Oct 2023 6:30 PM

Drugs Being sold inside the Jail, Major revelation of this prisoner on Spokesman Tv......

06 Sep 2023 6:01 PM

Sukhjinder Randhawa's Son Udayveer's Major Statement After Fight Video Went Viral | Interview

31 Aug 2023 6:45 PM

Exclusive Disclosure in Kotakpura Firing Case, Spokesman got Solid Evidence! Watch the video!

31 Aug 2023 6:43 PM
Advertisement