Petrol crosses Rs 100 in Bengaluru - third metro after Mumbai, Hyderabad

Bengaluru on Friday became the third metro city in the country to see petrol price cross Rs 100 per litre mark after fuel prices were raised yet again.

Petrol price was hiked by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

The hike -- 26th in less than seven weeks -- pushed fuel prices across the country to new historic highs.

In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 96.93 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 87.69 per litre.

Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.

And because of this, petrol retails at over Rs 100 per litre mark in eight states and union territories -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

While several districts of Karnataka already had petrol price over Rs 100, state capital Bengaluru reached the mark on Friday. Petrol in the city is now priced at Rs 100.17 per litre and diesel at Rs 92.97.

Bengaluru is the third metro city to see Rs 100 per litre petrol price. Mumbai on May 29 became the first metro in the country where petrol was being sold at over Rs 100 a litre. Petrol now costs Rs 103.08 a litre in the city and diesel comes for Rs 95.14.

The fuel touched that mark in Hyderabad earlier this week.

While Leh already had Rs 100 per litre petrol, Srinagar joined the league on Friday. Petrol at Indian Oil Corp (IOC) pumps in the city costs Rs 99.99 a litre and that on HPCL outlets at Rs 100.04.

Rates vary by a few paise from company to company in a city.

Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan near the India-Pakistan border was the first place in the country to see petrol hitting Rs 100 a litre mark in mid-February and last week it also earned the distinction of diesel crossing that psychological mark.

Petrol in the city is sold at Rs 108.07 a litre - the highest rate in the country, and diesel comes for Rs 100.82.

Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The hike on Friday was the 26th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended a 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.

In 26 hikes , petrol price has risen by Rs 6.53 per litre and diesel by Rs 6.96 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.

International oil prices have firmed in recent weeks in anticipation of demand recovery following the rollout of vaccination programme by various countries. Also, the rupee has weakened against the US dollar, making imports costlier.