Diesel, Petrol Price Hiked For 8th Day To New Highs; Government Action Likely Soon
- With effect from 6 am, May 21, petrol prices were at Rs 76.57 per litre in Delhi, Rs 79.24 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 84.4 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 79.47 per litre in Chennai, according to Indian Oil. Diesel prices were at Rs 67.82 per litre, Rs 70.37 per litre, Rs 72.21 per litre and Rs 71.59 per litre respectively.
 Petrol price (in Rs per litre) Diesel price (in Rs per litre)  21-May 20-May 31-Mar 31-Dec 21-May 20-May 31-Mar 31-Dec Delhi 76.57 76.24 73.55 69.97 67.82 67.57 64.4 59.64 Kolkata 79.24 78.91 76.26 72.72 70.37 70.12 67.09 62.3 Mumbai 84.4 84.07 81.41 77.87 72.21 71.94 68.58 63.27 Chennai 79.47 79.13 76.29 72.53 71.59 71.32 67.93 62.83 (Source: iocl.com) - Monday's revision marked an eighth consecutive hike in petrol and diesel prices in the four metros.
- Prior to these hikes, petrol and diesel prices were not raised for about three weeks before Karnataka elections. Because of that, oil marketing companies (OMCs) needed to raise petrol prices by Rs 4.6 per litre, or 6.2 per cent, and diesel rates by Rs. 3.8 per litre, or 5.8 per cent, according to brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities.
- Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said the government was looking at ways to keep the rising fuel prices in check. (Read more)
- Industry chamber Ficci has called for the government to urgently reduce fuel excise duties. "At a time when the Indian economy is on a recovery path, rising oil prices are again posing a high risk to India's economic growth trajectory," Ficci said in a statement.
- Rising crude oil prices in the international market and strength of the dollar against the rupee has dictated domestic petrol and diesel prices in the past few weeks. While the crude oil prices are near their 2014 highs the rupee has weakened by more than 6 per cent so far this year. That is why domestic petrol and diesel prices may continue to rise in the very short term, say experts.
- On Monday, US crude futures rose 0.8 per cent to $71.83 per barrel, near last week's three-and-a-half-year high of $72.30 while Brent crude futures notched up 0.8 per cent to $79.10 per barrel. Last week, crude oil prices had crossed $80 per barrel for the first time since November 2014.
- Petrol prices have been increased by Rs 6.6 per litre in Delhi, Rs 6.52 per litre in Kolkata, Rs 6.53 per litre in Mumbai and Rs 6.94 per litre in Chennai so far this year. During this period, diesel prices have been raised by Rs 8.18 per litre, Rs 8.07 per litre, Rs 8.94 per litre and Rs 8.76 per litre respectively. (Also read: Excise Duty Cut Rules Out | Government for bringing petrol under GST)
- Currently, petrol and diesel rates in the country are determined broadly by global crude oil and rupee-dollar forex rate. That is part of a daily system of fuel price revisions adopted in June last year.
- India imports more than 80 per cent of its annual oil requirement.
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