Fuel prices soar to ‘all-time high’, people feel pinch

LUCKNOW: The price of petrol in Lucknow touched an ‘all-time high’ of Rs 77.36 per litre under the dynamic pricing regime on Sunday, prompting market experts to predict the rates may cross Rs 80 next week.

Diesel price too climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.97 per litre in the state capital as oil public sector undertakings passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers. The rates have seen a hike of almost Rs 5 per litre in the last 10 days. While residents said the conclusion of the Karnataka polls was the reason for the hike, officials of oil companies attributed it to a rise in oil prices in the international market.

Dheeraj Saxena, a businessman, said: “The middle class is suffering the most. The daily hike in oil price is burning a hole in our pocket. The prices have increased almost by Rs 15 in the last two months.”

Refusing to named, officials of oil companies say the rise in petrol and diesel prices is because of volatility in the international market after the US pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran.

Professor Arvind Mohan of the department of economics, Lucknow University, says, “When the rates are thrown open to the international market, the burden of a price hike will be passed on to the common man. But if the government decides to meet the hike with other means, things could ease for the common man.”

Fuel rates vary from state to state depending on the local sales tax or VAT. According to a report from Bhubaneswar, union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the hike in the fuel prices was due to less production of oil in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

However, he assured the citizens that the government will soon come up with a solution.