Another day, another rise in fuel prices

On Friday, February 12, petrol and diesel prices soared to record highs after rates were hiked for the fourth consecutive day across the nation.

Petrol price was increased by 31 paise per litre and diesel by 35 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.

This took petrol and diesel price in Mumbai now stands at INR 94.64 and INR 85.32 respectively. With the daily increase in the fuel rates, the city’s petrol price is inching closer to INR 100 a litre.

Meanwhile, the petrol is sold at INR 88.14 a litre in Delhi and diesel rates rose to INR 78.38 per litre in the national capital.

In four days, prices have gone up by INR 1.21 per litre for petrol, while diesel has risen by INR 1.25 a litre.

Earlier, the Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had told Parliament that the government is not considering a reduction in excise duty to cool rates from their record highs.

Rates have risen as international oil prices touched USD 61 per barrel for the first time in more than a year on improving demand outlook amid the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, he had said.

The petrol and diesel prices have increased 15 times in 2021 with the two auto fuels increasing by INR 4.14 and INR 4.16 per litre respectively so far this year.