Fuel prices on fire: Petrol at all-time high of ₹93.20 in Mumbai

Fossil fuels like petrol and diesel are on fire in India. With the latest price hike on Thursday, petrol cost in Mumbai has shot to an all-time high of ₹93.20 a litre, while diesel costs ₹83.67 per litre. In the past 28 days, these two fuels’ price in Mumbai increased by ₹2.37 and 2.60, respectively.

In the last 10 months, the price of petrol has increased by 24% in the business capital of the country, while diesel too witnessed a 28% hike.

Other cities such as Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata too were not very far behind in terms of pricing of these auto fuels. On Thursday, the petrol price in the abovementioned cities were ₹86.85, ₹89.13 and ₹88.01 respectively. On the other hand, diesel prices were ₹76.83, ₹82.04, and ₹80.41 respectively. In Delhi, petrol and diesel prices hiked by ₹2.65 and ₹2.45 respectively, in the last 28 days.

At the start of the current financial year, the price difference between petrol and diesel was ₹10.09 per litre and today it came down to ₹9.53 a litre. This indicates how the price of diesel, known as common man’s fuel has increased.

The rise in global crude prices is a major reason behind the hikes for both the fuel prices in India. As the economies around the world are gradually returning to their normal operations after the pandemic caused lockdowns and pause in activities, the crude oil price is rising again after hitting a historic low in 2020. On Thursday, Brent crude oil was $57.46 per barrel, up by around 200% as compared to $18.38 a barrel recorded on 1st April 2020.

The price hikes of both the auto fuels are directly impacting the Indian motorists by burning their pockets. For example, the owner of a Hero Splendor motorcycle had to spend ₹828 to fill the tank to the fullest with 11-litre petrol at the start of this financial year. On Thursday, that person had to pay ₹1,025.20, ₹197.20 extra for the same. The story is similar for the car owners. While the small car owners are shelling out over ₹500 extra for a full tank of petrol, the mid-size SUV owners are paying around ₹1,000 extra now, as compared to 1st April 2020.