Petrol, Diesel Prices Today In India: On Pause For 18 Consecutive Days

Fuel prices were kept steady for the 18th straight day on Sunday across all metro cities after state retailers hiked petrol and diesel rates cumulatively by ₹ 10 per litre since price revisions restarted on March 22, after a four-month hiatus before that.

Here are the updates on the petrol and diesel price on April 24, 2022:

In Delhi, a litre of petrol is retailed at Rs 105.41, and diesel costs Rs 96.67. In Mumbai, petrol is priced at Rs 120.51 per litre, and diesel costs Rs 104.77. In Chennai, petrol is sold at Rs 110.85 a litre, and diesel costs Rs 100.94. Petrol is sold at Rs 115.12 in Chennai, and diesel is priced at Rs 99.83. 

Since price revisions restarted on March 22, after being on hold for nearly four months, state retailers hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre, respectively, in a 14-times increase. The last rate hike was on April 6, when petrol and diesel prices were increased by 80 paise.

Fuel rates were last hiked by 80 paise per litre on April 6, the 14th increase since the March 22 restart to revise prices - taking petrol and diesel prices higher by ₹ 10 a litre, respectively. 

The Russia-Ukraine war and the resultant sanctions on Moscow by Western countries and its allies have disrupted energy supply chains. That has led global crude prices to surge. Indeed, the London-traded international benchmark, Brent, hit multi-year highs soon after Russia invaded Ukraine and has stayed above $100 a barrel - barring a couple of brief dips below that level.

Indian crude oil basket price has risen 8.5 per cent in the last few days - between April 11 and 21 - with an average cost of about $103 per barrel, suggesting an upward pressure likely on domestic fuel rates.

Indeed, if the rising trend in global crude and the Indian oil basket price continues, retailers would be forced to hike pump prices.

State retailers set fuel prices each day based on the Dynamic Fuel Price Methodology. The price revisions method, or the dynamic fuel price methodology, considers several factors such as international crude prices, the exchange rate of the rupee against the dollar, actual and expected demand, and the trade flow in global crude markets.

In addition, central tax or excise duty, value-added tax (VAT) - which varies from state to state, and retailer commission is included to derive from the retail price of fuel.

More than 57 per cent of the retail fuel price per litre goes towards taxes, duties, cess and dealer margins. So those costs included determining the final retail price of fuel at petrol pumps.

States decide on the value-added tax (VAT) varies across states, and Mumbai tops the metros' list for the highest fuel prices.