Petrol price on Tuesday crossed Rs 100 a litre mark after rates were hiked by 80 paise a litre and 70 paise in case of diesel, taking the total increase in rates in one week to Rs 4.80 per litre in 8 days.
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 100.21 per litre as against Rs 99.41 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 90.77 per litre to Rs 91.47, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
In Mumbai, petrol will cost Rs 115.04 per litre and diesel at Rs 99.25 a litre. In Chennai, the price of petrol is Rs 105.94 per litre and diesel is Rs 96 a litre. In Kolkata, petrol is priced at Rs 109.68 a litre and diesel at Rs 94.62 per litre.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation. On 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. On the following days, petrol price went up by 50 paise and 30 paise a litre while diesel rose by 55 paise and 35 paise a litre.
Fuel prices had been on a freeze since November 4, 2021, ahead of the assembly elections in the five states — a period during which the cost of raw material (crude oil) soared by about US $30 per barrel.
This is the seventh increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month-long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. On 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. On the following days, petrol price went up by 50 paise and 30 paise a litre while diesel rose by 55 paise and 35 paise a litre.
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.
