Petrol nears Rs 90/litre in Mumbai, over Rs 82 in Delhi

Domestic fuel prices continued to scale new heights on Monday, with the price of petrol nearing the psychological Rs 90 a litre-mark in Mumbai with the fuel selling at Rs 89.44 under the dynamic pricing regime.

As per rates released daily by state-run Indian Oil Corp, the depreciating rupee and expensive crude oil further pushed petrol and diesel to new record highs on Monday.

Petrol in Delhi, which is cheapest among the four metros due to lower taxes, crossed Rs 82 on Monday, rising to Rs 82.06 per litre, while it increased in Kolkata and Chennai to Rs 83.91 and Rs 85.31, respectively.

Similarly, diesel prices rose on Monday in Delhi and Kolkata to Rs 73.78 and Rs 75.63 per litre, respectively, and climbed to Rs 78 and Rs 78.33 per litre in Chennai and Mumbai, respectively.

Fuel prices in the country have been rising almost daily since August 1. They fell only once on August 13 and have been on record levels for over two weeks now.

Sector experts say a weak rupee and high excise duty are major factors for the rise in fuel prices.

Inflationary risks along with broadly negative global cues depressed the Indian rupee to a new low of 72.91 against the US dollar.

Also, high global crude oil cost has become a major concern for the country, which imports over 80 per cent of its oil requirements. The UK Brent crude oil price hovers around $78 per barrel.

Since the start of the calendar year, the petrol price in Delhi has gone up by over 15 per cent from Rs 69.97 on January 1, 2018. The hike in diesel price has been even more steep. It has gone up by more than 22 per cent since January 1 when it cost Rs 59.70.

Last week, the West Bengal government reduced the excise on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre each.

The Karnataka government announced on Monday that petrol and diesel will be cheaper by Rs 2 per litre each across the state from Tuesday following the reduction in cess on these fuels.

As per the country's pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend upon the international fuel prices on a 15-day average and the value of the rupee.

--IANS

bc/nir