Petrol breaches ₹86 mark in Delhi, diesel above ₹83 in Mumbai in latest hike

Petrol price on Tuesday edged past ₹86 a litre mark in the national capital and diesel soared above ₹76 after rates witnessed maximum increase in the last one year.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 35 paise per litre each on Tuesday, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

This took petrol price in Delhi to ₹86.05 per litre and ₹92.62 in Mumbai.

Diesel rate climbed to ₹76.23 a litre in the national capital and to ₹83.03 per litre in Mumbai, the price data showed.

Rates had gone up by Re 1 per litre each last week before hitting a two-day pause.

Fuel prices, which vary from state to state depending on local sales tax or VAT, are now at a record high in the country, prompting cries for a cut in excise duty to ease the burden on consumers.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week blamed Saudi oil output cut for the surge in oil prices but remained non-committal on tax cuts.

Top oil explorer Saudi Arabia has pledged additional voluntary output cuts of 1 million barrels per day in February and March, which has led to price climbing to most since the pandemic broke out.

State-owned fuel retailers -- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) -- had on January 6, resumed daily price revision after nearly a month-long hiatus.

Since then, rates have gone up by ₹2.34 a litre on petrol and ₹2.36 in case of diesel.

This comes after international oil prices firmed up in hopes of demand returning from the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in different countries, including India.

Prior to the current high crude prices triggered the price hikes this month, fuel prices had last touched record high on October 4, 2018. At that time the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹1.50 per litre in a bid to ease inflationary pressure and boost consumer confidence. Alongside, state-owned fuel retailers cut prices by another Re 1 a litre, which they recouped later.

This time, there are no indications of a duty cut so far.

Petrol and diesel prices are revised on a daily basis in line with benchmark international price and foreign exchange rates.