No respite as fuel prices rise again, petrol crosses Rs 90-mark in Mumbai

In Mumbai, the petrol price has touched Rs 90.08 per litre, while diesel is being retailed at Rs 78.58 per litre

In no respite to the citizens, fuel prices in the country touched new heights on Monday morning, especially in Mumbai, as the petrol price in the metropolitan city crossed Rs 90-run mark.

In Mumbai, the petrol price has touched Rs 90.08 per litre, while diesel is being retailed at Rs 78.58 per litre.

Meanwhile, the prices of petrol and diesel in New Delhi are Rs.82.72 per litre and Rs.74.02 per litre respectively.

Keeping the people's suffering in mind, the West Bengal government on September 11 reduced the excise on petrol and diesel by Re 1 per litre each last week. Similarly, the Karnataka government had also announced that the Petrol and Diesel pricesacross the state would be cheaper by Rs 2 per litre each, following the reduction in cess on these fuels. As per India's pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend upon the international fuel prices on a 15-day average and the value of the Indian rupee.

Fuel prices have been witnessing a steep rise since the past few weeks. While the Opposition has blamed the Union government for not doing enough to keep a check on prices, the latter has maintained that global crude oil prices and other international factors are causing a hike in prices of petroleum products.

However, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Friday said that discussions are taking place with the United States regarding the reduction of oil imports from Iran.

Garg had also said that if needed, discussions will be held on trading of oil in terms of the Indian Rupee.

Article Source : Business Standard

Karnataka polls over, petrol, diesel prices rise after 19 day freeze

The rise in prices is mainly due to the rise in international crude oil prices which were seen at $76.69 a barrel at one point on Monday

With the Karnataka polls over, oil marketing companies have opted for a price rise in petrol and diesel after a gap of 19 days.

The price of petrol was increased 17 paise per litre and that of diesel by 21 paise per litre in Delhi on Monday. Petrol price was seen at Rs 74.80 per litre, the highest since September 2013, and diesel was seen at Rs 66.14 per litre. The prices were kept on freeze starting from April 24, on the back of the Karnataka polls.

The prices of petrol zoomed by 17 paise per litre in Mumbai, 18 paise per litre in Kolkata and 18 paise per litre in Chennai. On the other hand, Mumbai and Chennai saw a rise of 23 paise each in diesel prices and 5 paise per litre in Kolkata.

State-run oil marketing companies like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) were facing a huge cut in their marketing margins to an average of around Rs 2-3 per litre on petrol and diesel.

However, IOC chairman Sanjiv Singh had said that the prices were kept on hold so as to avoid panic among the common man. On an annualized basis, a one-rupee reduction in margin on both petrol and diesel would result in Rs 130 billion-worth of an annual shortfall in OMC revenues.

The rise in prices was mainly owing to the rise in international crude oil prices. The Indian basket crude oil price was $75.26 a barrel on Monday, while international prices were seen at $76.69 a barrel at one point on Monday. At present, the Centre levies Rs 19.48 a litre and Rs 15.33 a litre on diesel as excise duty. Centre had gone for a cut in excise duty in the month of October by Rs 2, which according to the government has led to a revenue loss of more than Rs 130 billion on an annual basis.