India / No rise in petrol, diesel prices in Delhi after 21 consecutive days of hikes

New Delhi: After a continuous surge in prices for over 20 days, petrol and diesel rates in Delhi have on Sunday finally come to a standstill. However, diesel continues to be more expensive than petrol for the fifth day in a row, although the margin has narrowed down.

Petrol costs Rs 80.38 per litre in the national capital, whereas the price of diesel stands at Rs 80.40 per litre as of this morning.

The crude oil rates were increased by 25 paise for petrol and 21 paise for diesel on Saturday as oil companies continued to hike the prices. Notably, rates have been going up across the country but the retail prices vary from state to state, depending on the local sales tax and VAT.

In Mumbai, petrol prices have become increasingly become volatile at Rs 87.14 per litre. Meanwhile, diesel rates stood at Rs 78.71 per litre, according to Indian Oil prices on Saturday.

Notably, fuel prices have been increasing since June 7, when oil companies began the daily price revision mechanism after a hiatus of 83 days due to the coronavirus-infused lockdown. Crude oil prices were last revised under the dynamic pricing policy on March 16 before the deregulation began in April.

However, on June 24, for the first time in decades, diesel was priced more than petrol in Delhi. The development has raised a caution for automobile companies who have spent millions to ramp up their facilities for diesel-run vehicles.

Given a persistent economic slowdown that has hit automobile sector the hardest and the coronavirus lockdown which has reduced transport demand, the recent revision of diesel prices may heavily cost car companies with a fall in the demand for diesel-fueled vehicles.