New Delhi: Petrol price Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.
Petrol price Sunday increased by 33 paise a litre in Delhi – the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paise, 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 among all metros and most state capitals. With this increase, petrol has touched an all time-high, breaching the previous high of Rs 76.06 touched in Delhi 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 May 14 resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka 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 have 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 Kolkata and `71.32 in Chennai, the notification said.
Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair where it is priced at `63.35.
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg Friday refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers.
The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting $80 a barrel – the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating.
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.”
The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times – totalling `11.77 per litre on petrol and `13.47 on diesel – between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by `2 a litre.
No sooner had Karnataka polled to elect a new state government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) Monday ended a hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices that began April 25 and reverted to the 11-month old practices of changing rates on a daily basis.
Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about `500 crore on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three week hiatus.
The benchmark international rate for petrol, used for revising rate April 24, had gone up from $78.84 per barrel to $84.97 May 14. It has further risen to $84.97, indicating more daily hikes would be needed to level retail price with cost.
Similarly, benchmark international diesel rates during this period have climbed from $84.68 per barrel to $90.28 per barrel. Also, the rupee has weakened to `67.27 per US dollar from `66.62, making imports costlier.l
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