Fuel prices increased for seventh time in last 9 days
NEW DELHI: The upward price movement of auto fuels continued unabated for the seventh time in nine days as state-run oil companies (OMCs) raised their rates by 25 paise a litre on Wednesday, taking Petrol and diesel to record ₹92.05 per litre and ₹82.61 a litre, respectively, in the national capital.
The recent round of price hike made petrol costlier by ₹1.65 per litre and diesel by ₹1.88 a litre since May 4 across the country. Pump prices of petrol and diesel vary from place to place due to different state taxes and local levies. Central and state levies account for the chunk of the retail price of fuel—in Delhi for instance, central levies account for over 36% of petrol’s retail price, and state levies, 23%.
On Wednesday, many cities of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (MP) have seen petrol prices going beyond ₹100 per litre. According to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), petrol is sold at ₹100.97 a litre in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), ₹100.70 in Prabhani (Maharashtra) and ₹100.08 in Bhopal (MP).
While Mumbai pumps have priced petrol at ₹98.36 a litre and diesel at ₹89.75 today, auto fuels are sold at ₹93.84 per litre (petrol) and ₹87.49 a litre (diesel) in Chennai. The latest price of petrol in Koltaka is ₹92.16 per litre, that of diesel is ₹85.45 a litre.
According to executives working in OMCs, there are two main reasons for the recent spike in auto fuel prices—high international oil rates and recovery of past revenue losses that companies had incurred for keeping any upward price movement of the two politically sensitive fuels under moratorium for 66 days since February 27 because of assembly elections in four states and one Union territory. The pump price rally in India started a day after poll results on May 4.
Meanwhile, international oil prices are also firm. Benchmark Brent crude was trading at $68.9 a barrel, about 0.45% up during the intraday session on Wednesday.
The price hikes have come at a time when India’s fuel demand is falling owing to the lockdowns imposed to curb the deadly second wave in the country. India’s fuel demand slumped 9.4% in April when compared to the preceding month.
Fuel consumption fell 9.38% to 17.01 million tonnes in April from 18.77 million tonnes in March, data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed.
Sales of petrol—used in cars and motorcycles—fell to 2.38 million tonnes in April, the lowest since August. Demand for diesel—the most used fuel in the country—fell to 6.67 million tonnes in April 2021, down 7.5% from the previous month.