Diesel price on Sunday was hiked by 23 to 27 paise per litre as international oil prices neared their highest since 2018. However, the petrol price remained unchanged.
In Delhi, petrol prices were steady at Rs 101.19 per litre, while diesel rates were hiked by 25 paise from Rs 88.82 to Rs 89.07 litre.
In Mumbai, petrol is sold at Rs 107.26 per litre, while diesel rates now stand at Rs 96.68 per litre.
In Chennai, a litre of petrol is priced at Rs 98.96. On Sunday, the price of a litre of diesel was Rs 93.69 per litre, a rise of 23 paise.
In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 101.62 per litre while diesel costs Rs 92.17 a litre, a rise of 25 paise.
State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) hadn't revised fuel rates since September 5 despite a surge in international oil prices.
Since the last price revision on September 5, the price of petrol and diesel in the international market is higher by around USD 6-7 per barrel 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.
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)
