The price of petrol touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest ever level of Rs 67.57, on Sunday, 20 May, as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.
Petrol price increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi — the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms, reported PTI.
Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. Prices in Delhi are the cheapest when compared to other metros and most state capitals.
With this increase, petrol has touched an all time-high, breaching the previous high of Rs 76.06 in Delhi on 14 September 2013. Diesel rates are also at an all-time high level.
This is the seventh straight day of price increase since oil PSUs on 14 May resumed daily price revision after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. In all, the price of petrol has been raised by Rs 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in the last one week.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attributed the hike in fuel prices to the low production of oil in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a hike in crude oil price in the international market, reported ANI.
He also pointed the finger at the “fight between America and Iran” — referring to the withdrawal of US from the Iran Nuclear Deal — for the crude oil price hike in the international market.
I accept that people of India and especially the middle-class families have to suffer a lot due to price hike of oil. It’s not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The Indian government will soon come out with a solution.Dharmendra Pradhan, as quoted by NDTV
A Look At Rates Across India
In India, petrol is the costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes has led to a price of Rs 84.07 per litre. Petrol has breached Rs 80 mark in Bhopal (Rs 81.83 a litre), Patna (Rs 81.73), Hyderabad (Rs 80.76) and Srinagar (Rs 80.35), according to the notification.
Petrol in Kolkata costs Rs 78.91 per litre, while it is priced at Rs 79.13 in Chennai. The cheapest petrol is available in Panjim where a litre comes for Rs 70.26.
Diesel is the costliest in Hyderabad where it is priced at Rs 73.45 a litre due to high local taxes. It is priced at Rs 73.34 in Thiruvananthapuram. Other cities where diesel rates have crossed Rs 70 mark are Raipur (Rs 72.96 a litre), Gandhinagar (Rs 72.63), Bhubhaneswar (Rs 72.43), Patna (Rs 72.24), Jaipur (Rs 71.97), Ranchi (Rs 71.35), Bhopal (Rs 71.12) and Srinagar (Rs 70.96) A litre of diesel costs Rs 71.94 in Mumbai, Rs 70.12 in Kolkatta and Rs 71.32 in Chennai, the notification said.
Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair where it is priced at Rs 63.35.
Karnataka Polls End, Rates Revised
On Friday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg refused to say if the government will cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers, reported PTI.
The government is watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting USD 80 a barrel — the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all he said without elaborating.
Asked if the government would cut excise duty on petrol and diesel, he had stated that he has nothing to say on that front. “Just watch.”
The BJP-led government had raised excise duty nine times -– totalling Rs 11.77 per litre on petrol and Rs 13.47 on diesel – between November 2014 and January 2016 to shore up finances as global oil prices fell, but then cut the tax just once in October last year by Rs 2 a litre.
No sooner did Karnataka poll to elect a new state government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) on Monday ended a hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices that began on 25 April and reverted to the 11-month old practice of changing rates on a daily basis.
Oil PSUs are estimated to have lost about Rs 500 crore on absorbing higher cost resulting from the spike in international oil rates and fall in rupee against the US dollar during the nearly three-week hiatus.
The benchmark international rate for petrol, used for revising rate on 24 April, had gone up from USD 78.84 per barrel to USD 84.97 on 14 May.
Similarly, international diesel rates during this period have climbed from USD 84.68 per barrel to USD 90.28 pr barrel. Also, the rupee has weakened to Rs 67.27 per US dollar from Rs 66.62, making imports costlier.
Opposition Slams Modi Govt Over Price Hike
Leaders from Opposition parties including the Congress, the CPI(M), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the DMK were quick to lash out at the Modi government over the price hike.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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