E-Paper
Petrol, diesel prices jump over ₹8 a litre in 55 days
Petrol and diesel in Delhi are now sold at a record ₹98.46 per litre and ₹88.90 a litre, respectively. While fuel rates in Delhi are the benchmark for the entire country, retail prices of the two fuels differ from place to place because of variations in state taxes and local levies.
The rally of petrol and diesel rates continued unabated on Sunday by 35 paise a litre and 25 paise respectively, the 31st hike in 55 days, which made petrol costlier by ₹8.06 per litre and diesel by ₹8.17 since May 4, a day after results of five assembly polls were declared.
Petrol and diesel in Delhi are now sold at a record ₹98.46 per litre and ₹88.90 a litre, respectively. While fuel rates in Delhi are the benchmark for the entire country, retail prices of the two fuels differ from place to place because of variations in state taxes and local levies.
Both petrol and diesel rates have crossed the ₹100 mark in Rajasthan’s Ganganagar, where petrol is sold at ₹109.67 per litre and diesel at ₹102.12 a litre on Sunday.
The financial capital has the highest fuel rates among five metros where petrol is currently sold at ₹104.56 per litre and diesel at ₹96.42 a litre.
The latest hike leads to the highest jump in fuel rates in last two days as state-run oil marketing companies had raised pump prices of petrol and diesel by 35 paise a litre on Saturday that saw petrol breaching ₹100 mark in several cities of four more states—Punjab, Bihar, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The unidirectional upward movement Since May 4 saw petrol already crossing ₹100 mark in various cities across the country, particularly in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Some of the cities selling petrol for over ₹100 per litre are Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Parbhani, Aurangabad, Jaisalmer, Ganganagar, Banswara, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Guntur, Kakinada, Chikmagalur, Shivamogga, Hyderabad, Leh, Imphal, Kalahandi, Sopore, Baramulla, Patna, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram and Mohali.
Surging international oil rates and exorbitant domestic tax structure are two key reasons for high rates of petrol and diesel in pumps.
International oil prices soared on the last trading day (Friday), the highest since October 2018 on expectations of demand growth, continued oil squeeze by producers’ cartel and geopolitical reasons. Brent crude on Friday surged 0.82% to $76.18 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped 1% to 74.05.
