Petrol and diesel prices unchanged on Thursday, brings momentary relief

Petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged on April 7 after surging 14 times since March 22 and taking the cost up by ₹10 per litre for both motor fuels. In the last 16 days, oil marketing companies have increased the pricing of petrol and diesel by 14 times.

Petrol in Delhi now costs ₹105.41 per litre, while diesel is priced at ₹96.67 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol and diesel prices per litre are at ₹120.51 and ₹104.77 respectively. In Chennai, petrol costs ₹110.85 per litre and diesel ₹100.94 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol costs ₹115.12 per litre and diesel is available at ₹99.83 per litre.

Oil marketing companies started the daily revision of petrol and diesel prices on March 22, after a 137-day hiatus since November 4 last year. The Indian government claims that the latest series of hikes in petrol and diesel prices come as the crude oil price in the international market has been surging rapidly in the light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The crude oil price at one point reached $139 per barrel. As India imports 85 per cent of oil requirements from overseas, the crude oil price fluctuation directly impacts petrol and diesel pricing in India.

While the surging prices of motor fuels have been putting more pressure on motorists and common people, the union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri, on April 5 in the Lok Sabha, defended the fuel price hikes. He said that in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war, petrol prices in India had gone up by merely 5 per cent as against over 50 per cent in some of the developed countries.

The petrol and diesel prices in India is expected to rise further in the coming days in an attempt to keep pace with the crude oil price in the international market.

Check out Upcoming Cars in India 2024, Best SUVs in India.