Petrol hits another high of Rs 87.60 in New Delhi, diesel at Rs 77.73

Petrol price on Wednesday touched a record high of Rs 87.60 in the national capital, a day after breaching the Rs 87-a-litre mark. 

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 30 and 25 paise per litre respectively on Wednesday, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies. The diesel prices stood at Rs 77.73. Yesterday, the petrol price topped the Rs 87-mark to touch an all-time high of Rs 87.30 in New Delhi. Prices of the two were hiked by 35 paise per litre each.
 

Fuel prices, which vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or VAT, are now at a record high in the country, prompting calls for a cut in excise duty to ease the burden on consumers. Petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates. 
 

Petrol prices in Mumbai stood at Rs 94.12 on Wednesday as compared with Rs 93.83 yesterday. One litre of diesel will cost Rs 84.63 in the city. In Chennai, petrol inched up 36 paise to sell at Rs 89.96. Diesel was retailing at Rs 82.90 in the city. 

In Bangalore, petrol and diesel prices surged by 31 paise and 27 paise respectively to Rs 90.53 and Rs 82.40. In Kolkata, the retail price of petrol price was increased by 29 paise to Rs 88.92 per litre.

According to India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), the price hikes are supported by a gradual revival in global demand and continued production cuts by major suppliers.

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said that the fuel prices had gone up because of a lower production in oil-producing nations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in a meeting on February 3 decided to go on with the output curbs. 

However, on Monday, Saudi Arabia decided against raising crude supplies for March delivery to Asian consumers, including India, while raising the prices for other major consumers in the US and Europe. What this means is that even though crude prices may rise higher from the present levels of $60 a barrel, India along with other Asian consumers would continue to get discounts over the prevailing price. 

This came at an opportune time for India, where fuel prices have been inching towards historic highs.

On Sunday, Meghalaya government reduced the tax on petrol and diesel in the state by Rs 2 per litre, days after after local taxi operators in the state capital protested against the high taxes in petrol in the state.

Last week, Pradhan told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question that excise duty levied by the central government makes up for Rs 32.98 per litre of the price of petrol in Delhi and sales tax or VAT of the state government constitutes Rs 19.55.

For diesel, the central excise adds up to Rs 31.83 and VAT to Rs 10.99, he had said.

Besides, the price includes a dealer commission of a minimum Rs 2.6 per litre on petrol and Rs 2 on diesel.