Petrol, diesel prices hiked for third consecutive day
Fuel prices have been hiked after a long near two-month period of holding steady, just days after assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory ended. State-run fuel retailers have increased the price of petrol by 15 paise per litre, and the price of diesel by 18 paise per litre. Petrol prices, as of today, now stand at Rs 90.99/litre (Delhi), Rs 97.34/litre (Mumbai), while diesel prices are at Rs 81.42/litre (Delhi), Rs 88.49/litre (Mumbai). During the time since the end of February when prices were last hiked, fuel prices saw marginal downwards revisions four times, the last of which was on April 15th.
The oil marketing companies say the price hike corresponds with a jump in international prices of crude oil. The average purchase price for crude oil has reportedly risen over 7 per cent per barrel in the last two months, or about an average of $8 (approximately Rs 591) increase per barrel of crude. This rise in fuel prices was largely expected, with international oil prices going up, along with the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. It's reported that state-run fuel retailers were losing up to Rs 3/litre on the sale of fuel during the period without a price hike.
