Petrol-Diesel / Petrol price hiked for 7th time this month, crosses ₹92-mark in Delhi

New Delhi: The pump prices of petrol and diesel on Wednesday (May 12) were increased for the seventh time this month, pushing prices to cross the psychological barrier of Rs 100-a-litre in several states, including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Petrol price was raised by 22-25 paise a litre and diesel by 24-27 per litre across the country. 

After today’s hike, petrol prices in Delhi peaked to Rs 92.05 (25 paise increase) a litre as against Rs 91.80 on Tuesday while diesel price jumped to Rs 82.61 per litre as compared to Rs 82.36 a litre on Tuesday, as per data from Indian Oil Corporation website.

Petrol price in the national capital on Wednesday crossed Rs 92 per litre mark, for the first time, as state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) continue to hike auto fuels prices in line with costs. In Delhi, prices have risen by Rs 1.60 per litre in the case of petrol and Rs 1.88 on diesel in the last seven days.

People in Mumbai have to shell out Rs 98.36 for a litre of petrol after a 24 paise rise over Tuesday’s rate. A litre of diesel costs Rs 89.75, 27 paise more than yesterday’s price of Rs 89.48 a litre. In Kolkata, the retail price of petrol price was hiked by 24 paise to Rs 92.16 a litre, from Rs 91.92 recorded on Tuesday. Diesel costs Rs 85.45 a litre, 25 paise more than Tuesday’s price.

Likewise, in Chennai, petrol is retailing at Rs 93.84 a litre, 22 paise more than yesterday’s rate of Rs 93.62 while diesel price rose to Rs 87.49 a litre, 24 paise increase from yesterday’s price of Rs 87.25 a litre.

Worth mentioning here is that Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan has the highest petrol and diesel rates in the country at Rs 102.96 per litre and Rs 95.33 a litre respectively. Petrol crossed the Rs 100-mark in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district (Rs 100.97) and Bikaner (Rs 100.97) while it is priced at Rs 98.47 a litre in Jaipur. 

In Madhya Pradesh, petrol prices breached the Rs 100-per-litre-mark at several districts, including Shahdol (Rs 102.31), Rewa (Rs 102.30). Petrol is retailing at Rs 101.16 a litre in Indore, and Bhopal becomes the first state capital to see petrol at over Rs 100 per litre.

The retail prices of auto fuels vary from state to state due to different local taxes and VAT imposed. Currently, central and state taxes make up for over 61 per cent of petrol price while they constitute over 56 per cent of diesel rates. The Centre levies Rs 32.90 per litre of excise duty on petrol and Rs 31.80 on diesel.

On Wednesday, in the global oil market, Brent crude futures were trading at $68.70 per barrel, up 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent, from their last close. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures soared by 21 cents or 0.3 per cent, to $65.49 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its monthly report said: “India (the third-largest oil consumer) is currently facing severe Covid-19-related challenges and will therefore face a negative impact on its recovery in the second quarter, but it is expected to continue improving its momentum again in the second half of 2021”.