Domestic crude oil basket rises to $69.32

India's crude oil basket rose marginally last Friday to $69.32 a barrel from $69.06 a barrel a day earlier in line with global crude oil prices, the petroleum and natural gas ministry said today.

Crude oil for September delivery rose by over $1 a barrel to close at $71.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

However, prices have softened from their earlier highs of over $76 a barrel.

The current monthly average of the Indian crude oil basket is above the benchmark of $70 per barrel set by the government for state-owned oil marketing firms to revise prices.

The government, however, did not allow state-owned oil marketing companies to raise retail prices, even though the average monthly price of Indian basket was $71.36 a barrel in July.

Friday, the government had said it would review retail prices of petroleum products on September 1.

For every dollar rise in crude oil price, the retail price per litre of petrol has to be increased by Rs 0.39 , diesel by Rs 0.30 , kerosene by Rs 0.36, and cooking gas by Rs 0.67.