Petrol and diesel prices hit alltime highs as oil firms hike rates
Petrol price on Sunday touched a record high of ₹76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of ₹67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.
Petrol price on Sunday increased by 33 paisa a litre in 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.
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 ₹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 preKarnataka poll hiatus.
In all, petrol price has been raised by ₹1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last one week.
In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes has led a price of ₹84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached ₹80 mark in Bhopal (₹81.83 a litre), Patna (₹81.73), Hyderabad (₹80.76) and Srinagar (₹80.35), according to the price notification.
Petrol in Kolkata costs ₹78.91 per litre while it is priced at ₹79.13 in Chennai. The cheapest petrol is available in Panjim where a litre comes for ₹70.26. Diesel is the costliest in Hyderabad were it is priced at ₹73.45 a litre due to high local taxes. It is priced at ₹73.34 in Trivandrum.
Other cities where diesel rates have crossed ₹70 mark are Raipur (₹72.96 a litre), Gandhinagar (₹72.63), Bhubhaneswar (₹72.43), Patna (₹72.24), Jaipur (₹71.97), Ranchi (₹71.35), Bhopal (₹71.12) and Srinagar (₹70.96).
A litre of diesel costs ₹71.94 in Mumbai, ₹70.12 in Kolkatta and ₹71.32 in Chennai, the notification said. Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair where it is priced at ₹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.
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.”
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