Petrol crosses Rs 100/litre mark in Delhi after 80 paise hike, diesel up 70 paise
Prices had been on a freeze since November 4 ahead of the assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
Petrol price on Tuesday was hiked by 80 paise a litre and diesel by 70 paise. With the increase, petrol in Delhi crossed Rs 100 per litre mark and will now be sold at Rs 100.21 per litre, while diesel rates have gone up to Rs 91.47, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
In Mumbai, after an increase of 85 paise and 75 paise respectively, petrol will now cost Rs 115.04 per litre, while diesel rates have reached Rs 99.25.
Petrol in Chennai will now be sold at Rs 105.94 per litre, while diesel will cost Rs 96.
In Kolkata, the price of petrol is Rs 109.68 (increased by 83 paise) and diesel is Rs 94.62 (increased by 70 paise).
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation. This is the seventh increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22.
In the first four occasions, prices were increased by 80 paise a litre – the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017.
Prices had been on a freeze since November 4 ahead of the assembly elections in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab — a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about USD 30 per barrel.
The rate revision was expected soon after the counting of votes on March 10 but it was put off by a couple of weeks.
The increase in retail price warranted by crude oil prices rising during the 137-day hiatus from around USD 82 per barrel to USD 120 is huge but state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are passing on the required increase in stages.
Moody’s Investors Services last week stated that state retailers together lost around USD 2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during the election period.
Oil companies “will need to raise diesel prices by Rs 13.1-24.9 per litre and Rs 10.6-22.3 a litre on gasoline (petrol) at an underlying crude price of USD 100-120 per barrel,” according to Kotak Institutional Equities.
CRISIL Research said a Rs 9-12 per litre increase in retail price will be required for a full pass-through of an average USD 100 per barrel crude oil and Rs 15-20 a litre hike if the average crude oil price rises to USD 110-120.
India is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement.
News Credit: India TV News
