New Delhi, March 28:
Fuel prices were increased for the sixth time in the last seven days as the cost of petrol in Delhi neared ₹100-mark. According to a price notification of state fuel retailers, petrol in Delhi will now cost ₹99.41 per litre, a 30-paisa increase, while diesel will cost ₹90.77, a 35-paisa hike from Sunday.
Petrol and diesel rates vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.
In Mumbai, petrol and diesel are being sold at ₹114.19 and ₹98.50 per litre, while the price of petrol and diesel in Chennai is ₹105.18 and ₹95.33.
Petrol in Kolkata will now cost ₹108.85 and diesel at ₹93.92 per litre.
On the first four occasions, fuel prices were increased by 80 paise per litre, the steepest single-day rise since the daily price revision was introduced in June 2017. On Sunday, petrol price went up by 50 paise a litre and diesel by 55 paise.
The revision in fuel prices was expected soon after the counting of votes was over on March 10.
Moody’s Investors Services said last week that state-owned fuel retailers – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) – together lost around ₹19,000 crore in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on freeze during the election period.
Oil companies “will need to raise diesel prices by ₹13.1-24.9 per litre and ₹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.
