Fuel prices rise after 2 days, petrol & diesel up by 25 and 35 paise in Delhi

Petrol and diesel are retailing in Delhi at ₹90.83 and ₹81.32 for every litre, respectively, a record high for both.

State-run oil marketing companies (OMC) on Tuesday announced a hike in fuel prices, after keeping rates unchanged for two straight days, according to news agency ANI. In the national capital Delhi, petrol was hiked by 25 paise a litre while an equal quantity of diesel rose by 35 paise, taking their respective rates to ₹90.83 and ₹81.32 for every litre.

A petrol pump attendant filling fuel into a vechicle in New Delhi (Amal KS/ Hindustan Times).

OMCs had hiked fuel prices for 12 straight days before keeping them unchanged on February 21 and 22. On February 20, which was the last hike before the two-day pause, petrol prices were increased by 39 paise for every litre while those for diesel had gone up by 37 paise a litre, taking their respective rates to ₹90.58 and ₹80.97 in the city.

Among the four metropolitan cities, fuel prices have been the highest in Mumbai, followed by those in Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi respectively. Rates have been high in the IT hubs of Bengaluru and Hyderabad as well.

In India, fuel prices are determined by OMCs like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum (BP) and Hindustan Petroleum (HP). These are fixed by taking into account fuel prices globally. Rates can be hiked, kept unchanged or pushed down. The practice of daily price revision came into effect from June 15, 207 before which prices were revised every fortnight.

The constant fuel price hike has triggered protests by opposition parties in several parts of the country. Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, criticising his government for constantly hiking fuel rates. Even the Shiv Sena, one of the three ruling parties in Maharashtra, has taken on its former ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the Centre, over the price hike.

Several state governments, including West Bengal, have announced a reduction of tax on fuel prices in the wake of constant hikes.