Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged after two consecutive hikes

Petrol and diesel prices remain unchanged on Thursday after two days of consecutive hikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The price of motor fuels started increasing again on Tuesday after a 137-day hiatus since November. The latest series of hikes for both petrol and diesel prices were announced in line with the increased price of crude oil in the international market, due to the uncertainty created by the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The oil marketing companies in India hikes the price of petrol and diesel by 80 paise on Wednesday. On Thursday, a litre of petrol is priced at ₹97.01 in Delhi, while the diesel is priced at ₹88.27 per litre.

The cost of petrol in Mumbai is ₹111.67 per litre, while the price of diesel is ₹95.85 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol and diesel continue to have the same cost as yesterday with a litre of petrol being retailed at ₹106.34 and diesel at ₹91.42. In Chennai, the petrol price on Thursday is ₹102.91 per litre and diesel costs ₹92.95 for a litre.

The resumption of fuel price hikes has started fanning concerns of stoking inflation. Amid the concerns of supply shortage for fuel, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri has allayed fears of short supply of crude oil amid the Russia-Ukraine war. He said in the parliament that crude oil imports from Russia are minuscule at just 0.2 per cent of total oil imports till January this fiscal.

India currently imports 85 per cent of its total fuel requirement from overseas. Hence, the slightest change in crude oil price in the international market impacts domestic fuel prices, eventually impacting the motorists and common people at large.