Petrol crosses Rs 100 in Tamil Nadu after steep hike in fuel rates

Petrol price soared past Rs 100-a-litre mark in Tamil Nadu after fuel prices were hiked again on Saturday.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each - the steepest in recent times, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

The increase took rates across the country to fresh highs with Tamil Nadu becoming the latest state to see petrol cross Rs 100-a- litre mark.

In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 98.11 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 88.65 per litre.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and freight charges.

While petrol had crossed Rs 100-a-litre mark in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and Ladakh, several towns in Tamil Nadu including Salem, Vellore and Cuddalore saw that level after the steep price hike.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs 99.19 a litre while diesel comes for Rs 93.23 per litre.

Among metro cities, petrol is already above Rs 100 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

In Mumbai, petrol now costs Rs 104.22 a litre and diesel comes for Rs 96.16.

Rate of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, had crossed the Rs 100-a-litre mark in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan as well in a couple of places in Odisha.

The hike on Saturday is the 30th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

In 30 hikes, the price of petrol has risen by Rs 7.71 per litre and diesel by Rs 8.12 a litre.

Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15 days, and foreign exchange rates.

Oil prices have climbed on optimism of a quick recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude soared past the USD 75 per barrel mark, the first time since April 2019.