Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each for the second consecutive day on Thursday, pushing rates to new highs across the country. The rates were kept unchanged for two days before.
In Delhi, rates soared 35 paise to cost Rs 106.54 and Rs 95.27 per litre respectively after the latest hike, according to Indian Oil Corporation.
In Mumbai, a litre of petrol now costs Rs 112.44, and diesel is sold at Rs 103.26 per litre.
In Chennai, petrol is retailed at Rs 103.61 and diesel at Rs 99.59 per litre while in Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 107.12 and diesel Rs 98.38 per litre.
With this rise, petrol is now at Rs 100-a-litre mark or more in all state capitals while diesel has touched the level in over a dozen states. Diesel crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Panaji and Ranchi.
Since ending of a three-week long hiatus in rate revision in the last week of September, this is the 18th increase in petrol price and the 21st time that diesel rates have gone up.
While petrol price in most of the country is already above Rs 100-a-litre mark, diesel rates have crossed that level in over a dozen states/UT including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Goa and Ladakh.
Prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes. International benchmark Brent crude is trading at USD 84.43 per barrel on Wednesday for the first time in seven years. A month back, Brent was trading at USD 73.92.
Being a net importer of oil, India prices petrol and diesel at rates equivalent to international prices. The surge in international oil prices ended a three-week hiatus in rate revision on September 28 for petrol and September 24 for diesel.
(With inputs from Agencies)
