Prices of petrol and diesel saw another 80 paise hike per litre on Sunday. In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 103.41 per litre and diesel costs Rs 94.67 per litre, a price notification from state fuel retailers states. Petrol and diesel prices vary from state to state, depending on local taxes.
In less than two weeks, the total increase in rates now stands at Rs 8 per litre. Petrol prices are above Rs 100 a litre mark in all major cities from Srinagar to Kochi. Diesel is above that mark in Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 101.83 a litre), Hyderabad (Rs 103.3), Mumbai (Rs 102.62), Bhubaneswar (Rs 100.1), Raipur (Rs 100.74) and several cities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.
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Diesel is the costliest in Chittor in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 105.52 a litre), while petrol at Rs 120.65 a litre is the costliest at the border town of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.
Fuel prices will continue to increase in “small doses” as oil prices go up in the international market, sources have told CNBC-TV18.
The increase in fuel prices on Sunday was the 11th since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. Prices had been on a freeze since November 4, ahead of the assembly elections in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
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During this period, the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about $30 per barrel. The rate revision was expected soon after the counting of votes on March 10. Moody’s Investors Services said last week that state retailers together lost around $2.25 billion (Rs 19,000 crore) in revenue for keeping petrol and diesel prices on hold during the election period.
Crude oil has also fluctuated between $97 and $139 a barrel since the Russia-Ukraine war began. The increase in retail price warranted from crude oil prices rising during the 137-day hiatus from around $82 per barrel to $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.Kotak Institutional Equities has said 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 petrol at an underlying crude price of $100-120 per barrel. CRISIL Research has said a Rs 9-12 per litre increase in retail price will be required for a full pass-through of an average $100 per barrel crude oil and Rs 15-20 a litre hike if the average crude oil price rises to $110-120.Sale of fuels in the country surged past pre-pandemic levels in March on the twin impact of the economy rebounding from the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and anticipation of price increases leading to stocking.India is 85 percent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs, and so retail rates adjust accordingly to the global movement.
