Petrol nears Rs 90/litre in Mumbai, over Rs 85 in Chennai

Continuing an upward movement, prices of petrol and diesel scaled new highs on Tuesday, with petrol nearing Rs 90 per litre in Mumbai and crossing Rs 84 in Kolkata.

Petrol was selling at record Rs 89.54 per litre in Mumbai, 10 paise up from its previous high, the data from Indian Oil Corp's website showed.

Prices in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai also touched unprecedented levels of Rs 82.16, Rs 84.01 and Rs 85.41 per litre respectively, up from Monday's Rs 82.06, Rs 83.91 and Rs 85.31 per litre.

The cost of transportation fuel has been on the rise since August 1, largely because of high crude oil prices and falling rupee. Depreciation in the Indian rupee against the US dollar makes the import of crude oil expensive as transaction is done in dollars.

Sector experts feel that high excise duty in the country also aided the high prices.

In line with petrol, diesel prices also scaled new highs on Tuesday.

In Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, diesel prices touched fresh highs of Rs 73.87, Rs 78.42 and Rs 78.10, up from the previous levels of Rs 73.78, Rs 78.33 and Rs 78 per litre.

In Kolkata, the fuel was sold at Rs 75.72, against Monday's Rs 75.63 per litre. The highest-ever diesel price in the city is Rs 75.82, recorded on September 11.

--IANS

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