Petrol price breaches ₹85 mark for first time in Delhi, nears ₹92 in Mumbai

Petrol price on Tuesday breached the ₹85 a litre mark in the national capital and diesel neared record high after rates were raised for the second consecutive day.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each, according to a price notification from oil marketing companies.

This took the petrol price in Delhi to ₹85.20 per litre and to ₹91.80 in Mumbai.

Diesel rate climbed to ₹75.38 a litre in the national capital - just shying away from its record high - and to an all-time high of ₹82.13 in Mumbai, the price data showed.

Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by 25 paise per litre each on Monday as well.

While petrol and diesel prices are at a record high in Mumbai, petrol price in the national capital is at an all-time high. Diesel price is just short of ₹75.45 a litre record touched on October 4, 2018.

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 ₹1.49 a litre on petrol and ₹1.51 in case of diesel.

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

When fuel prices had last touched record high on October 4, 2018, 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. They vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes.