
Petrol and diesel prices were on Sunday again hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in less than two weeks to Rs 8 per litre. Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 103.41 per litre as against Rs 102.61 previously, while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 93.87 per litre to Rs 94.67, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation. This is the 11th increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 8 per litre.
Till last Tuesday, fuel prices were steady since November 2021 when the Centre reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10 per litre, respectively. The OMCs revise the transportation fuel cost based on various factors such as rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil and demand for fuel amongst others.
Resultantly, the final price includes excise duty, value-added tax and dealer's commission. It was widely expected that the OMCs will revise the current prices due to high crude oil costs.
Lately, crude oil prices have been volatile on fears of tight supplies due to sanctions against Russia. The crude oil price range is a cause of concern for India as it may ultimately add up to Rs 10 in petrol and diesel selling prices.