Petrol up by 57 paise per litre, diesel by 59 paise in 6th consecutive hike

Petrol price on Friday was hiked by 57 paise per litre and diesel by 59 paise a litre as oil companies adjusted retail rates - the sixth straight day of increase in rates since oil firms ended an 82-day hiatus of rate revision, PTI reported.

Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 74.57 per litre from Rs 74, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 72.81 a litre from Rs 72.22, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.

Rates have been increased across the country and vary in each state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or value-added tax.

This is the sixth consecutive daily increase in rates since oil companies on Sunday restarted revising prices in line with costs, after ending an 82-day hiatus. In six hikes, the petrol price has gone up by Rs 3.31 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.42.

Oil marketing companies have indicated that price rise could continue for another week or 10 days as global crude prices are firming up with a pick up in demand following opening up of economies across the globe post-Covid-19 related lockdown. Even global crude prices are on the rise and its prices have more than doubled from April levels at over $40 a barrel level.

Prices of transportation fuel were last revised under the dynamic pricing policy on March 16 and there were few instances of price hike only when the respective state governments hiked VAT or cess. In a bid to increase revenues during the nationwide lockdown, several state governments raised taxes imposed on transportation fuel.

Already, the gap between cost and sale price of petrol and diesel for OMCs has reached around Rs 5-6 per litre. If this has to be covered over a period of time, given there is no further increase in global prices, auto fuel prices may be increased by 40-60 paise per day for a couple of weeks to cover the losses.