Petrol price hiked by Rs.1.63 (Roundup)

Petrol will cost Rs.1.63 more a litre, excluding state taxes, from midnight Friday, state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) announced.

The IOC said it had to hike prices due to volatility in the rupee against the dollar and hardening of international motor spirit prices.

The Indian rupee has lost more than 25 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the financial year.

Currently, the partially-convertible rupee stands at Rs.63.36 against the dollar. It had touched a record low of 68.80 to a dollar on Aug 28, 2013.

Any volatility in the rupee's value effects India's ability to import crude oil. Currently, India imports almost 79 percent of its crude oil requirements.

The IOC said it will reduce petrol prices if rupee-dollar exchange rate and international motor spirit (MS) prices stabilise.

"The movement of prices in the international oil market and rupee-dollar exchange rate are continuously under watch and developing trends reflected in future price changes," it said in a statement.

The three state-owned oil marketing companies had last raised prices of petrol and diesel by Rs.2.35 and Rs.0.50 a litre Sep 1.

In Delhi, the petrol price would increase to Rs.76.06 per litre. In Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, petrol would now be priced at Rs.83.62, Rs.79.55 and Rs.83.63 per litre.

The government had deregulated petrol prices in June, 2010. However, it subsidies the retail selling prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas to insulate domestic users from the impact of a rise in international oil prices and to contain domestic inflationary conditions.