Fule prices increased again, 7th time in last nine 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.
Petrol and diesel touched a record ₹92.05 per litre and ₹82.61 a litre, respectively, in Delhi. The recent round of the 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.
On Wednesday, many cities of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh (MP) have seen petrol prices going beyond ₹100 per litre.
According to 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, while that of diesel is ₹85.45 a litre.
The price hike has 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. Petrol sales in April were 13% lower than March 2021 and 3% lower than April 2019. Petrol sales in April 2020 were 9,72,000 tonnes.
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 and 9% from April 2019. Diesel sales in April 2020 were 3.25 million tonnes.
With airlines continuing to operate at less than capacity, jet fuel (ATF) sales in April were 4,09,000 tonnes, down 14% over March 2021 and 36.7% over April 2019. Jet fuel sales in April 2020 were 5,500 tonnes.
Sales volume of cooking gas LPG fell 6.4% to 2.1 million tonnes in April 2021 when compared to the previous month. The sales were 11.6% higher than 1.9 million tonnes in April 2019.
Bitumen, used in making roads, consumption fell to 658,000 tonnes in April 2021 from 904,000 tonnes in the previous month. It was lower than 691,000 tonnes in April 2019.