Petrol

In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said the Central government is ready to consider the idea of reducing tax on petrol and diesel, but all the states should also consider the matter.

Petrol and diesel prices have been rising continuously since February 9. In the 14 increases since then, prices have gone up by Rs 4.22 per litre for petrol while diesel rate has risen by Rs 4.34 a litre in Delhi.

Petrol is now priced at Rs 87.60 and diesel Rs 77.73 per litre in the national capital. Petrol prices increased from 26-29 paise per litre and diesel by 24-27 paise per litre across the country, depending on local taxes levied on the two petroleum products. The prices of petroleum product have now reached new highs with the latest increase.

The oil marketing companies on Tuesday decided to break their three-day pause to increase petrol and diesel prices by a sharp 35 paise per litre. With this, the retail price of diesel has increased to Rs 77.48 a litre in Delhi while petrol prices have surged to a new high level of Rs 87.30 a litre in the capital.

Before the pause, petrol and diesel prices had risen sharply on Thursday and Friday, taking up the pump price of the auto fuels by 65 paise per litre. The pause came on a day when global crude prices rose by over 1.3 per cent to reach this year's high level of over $60 a barrel.

Diesel prices also remained unchanged on Sunday. Prices of the fuel in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai were Rs 77.13, Rs 83.99, Rs 82.33 and Rs 80.71 respectively. Petrol and diesel prices have largely been elevated amid reviving crude oil prices. The benchmark Brent crude oil is currently around $59 per barrel.

The OMCs also ignored the signals given by the international market where oil prices rose sharply by over 1 per cent nearing $57 a barrel. This would have normally pushed OMCs into raising petrol and diesel prices to reduce their under recovery. With prices on hold on Tuesday, petrol continued to be available at new record high of Rs 86.30 a litre in Delhi while diesel is available at Rs 76.48 a litre.

In the national capital, petrol was priced at Rs 86.30 per litre. In Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, petrol was sold for Rs 92.86, Rs 88.82 and Rs 87.69 per litre. Diesel prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata remained unchanged at Rs 76.48, Rs 83.30, Rs 81.71 and Rs 80.08 per litre, respectively.

Accordingly, the last time petrol prices had crossed the Rs 80 per litre mark was in October 2018, when Brent crude had surged to $80.5 per barrel. In contrast, the price has now touched an all-time high of Rs 85.2 per litre in New Delhi even though Brent has slid to $55 per barrel.

With the latest increase, petrol is available at a record high of Rs 86.05 a litre in Delhi and diesel at Rs 76.23 a litre. Fuel prices increased sharply elsewhere in the country as well, but the retail hike varied from state to state due to quantum of taxes levied on petroleum products there.