Diesel price on Monday was hiked by 24 to 26 paise per litre across the country. This third increase in rates after the state-owned oil firms ended a three-week hiatus in rates following international oil prices surging to their highest since 2018. The petrol prices remained unchanged across metros, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
In Delhi, petrol prices were steady at Rs 101.19 per litre, while diesel rates were hiked by 25 paise from Rs 89.07 to Rs 89.32 litre.
In Mumbai, petrol is sold at Rs 107.26 per litre, while diesel rates were hiked by 26 paise from Rs 96.68 per litre to Rs 96.94 per litre.
In Chennai, a litre of petrol is priced at Rs 98.96. On Monday, the price of a litre of diesel was Rs 93.93 per litre, a rise of 24 paise.
In Kolkata, diesel price increased by 25 paise per litre and was retailed at Rs 92.42. While petrol price remained unchanged in West Bengal’s capital and retailed at Rs 101.62 per litre.
Global benchmark Brent crude has risen to $77.50 a barrel as crude inventories shrunk from Europe to the US. Oil rates are up 2 per cent for the week and this is the fifth weekly gain.
The price of petrol and diesel in the international market has risen by around USD 6-7 per barrel this month as compared to average prices during August.
But oil companies, which are supposed to revise prices daily in line with the cost, did not change rates for almost three weeks. They have now started to pass on the increase to customers.
Average international crude oil prices had fallen by more than USD 3 per barrel in August as compared to the previous month. This came against the backdrop of mixed economic data from the US and China and mobility restrictions in Asia fuelled by the fast-spreading Delta variant of Covid.
Accordingly, retail prices of petrol and diesel in the Delhi market were reduced by Rs 0.65 a litre and Rs 1.25 per litre by oil marketing companies from July 18 onwards. The last downward revision was on September 5.
Prior to that, the petrol price was increased by Rs 11.44 a litre between May 4 and July 17. Diesel rate had gone up by Rs 9.14 during this period.
The price hike during this period pushed petrol prices above the Rs 100-a-litre mark in more than half of the country, while diesel crossed that level in at least three states.
India is dependent on imports to meet nearly 85 per cent of its oil needs and so benchmarks local fuel rates to international oil prices.
(With inputs from PTI)
