Petrol price now at an all-time high in Delhi, diesel rates hiked too

Motorists in Delhi have never paid as much per litre of petrol as they would from Thursday onwards. This after a 23 paise hike per litre of the fuel saw the rate now at ₹84.20, the highest here ever. Diesel too received a 26 paise hike and is at ₹74.38 per litre.

The previous high point that the per litre petrol cost Delhi saw was ₹84 back on October 4 of 2018. On that day, diesel too had reached its peak and was at ₹75.45.

Fuel prices have been steady for almost a month but Wednesday's hike has seen petrol in Delhi create a new record, one that motorists won't be too pleased about. Fuel rates are revised on a daily basis based on benchmark international price and foreign exchange. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic though, government-controlled fuel retailers have been moderating rates.

A major share of the per-litre price of fuel is because of the excise duty and VAT imposed by central and state governments. Since VAT varies from state to state, the price of the fuel also varies across the country. So while petrol may be at an all-time high in Delhi, it had already breached ₹90-per litre-mark in Mumbai. In fact, of all the four metropolitan cities, fuel prices are still the cheapest in the national capital.

It is very likely that the current fuel prices are going to ignite yet another round of political storm with opposition parties having previously targeted the central government for levying high taxes.