Petrol price rises for 11th straight day, crosses Rs 85 a litre in Mumbai, Rs 80 in Kolkata

Fuel prices across metros increased by another 30 paise on Thursday, in their 11th day of rise since May 14, as dealers continued to pass on the burden of increasing crude oil prices to customers in a staggered manner.

Petrol prices in Mumbai breached Rs 85 on Thursday, with the fuel selling at Rs 85.29 a litre, 30 paise more than Wednesday’s price of Rs 84.99 a litre. In Delhi, prices reached Rs 77.47 per litre, Rs 80.42 in Chennai, and Rs 80.12 in Kolkata, according to Indian Oil Corp.

In the past one week, petrol prices have gone up over Rs 2 per litre across metros. The government had put a hold on fuel prices for a 20-day window ahead of Karnataka election results.

Diesel prices too continued to increase on Thursday, with the fuel selling 30 paise higher than Wednesday’s rates across metros. Diesel was the most expensive in Mumbai at Rs 72.96 per litre, followed by Chennai at Rs 72.35 per litre, Kolkata at Rs 71.08 a litre and Delhi at 68.53 a litre.

Oil minister Dharmendra Prasad has said the government is working on both long-term and short-term solutions to curb hike in fuel prices, which have reached unprecedented levels since September 2013, when similarly high levels were last observed, according to PTI.

MK Surana, chairman of the state-owned refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) on Wednesday called for the government to review taxation on petrol and diesel, news agency PTI reported, adding that the long-term solution to curb fuel prices hitting all-time highs might be to bring the petroleum products under the GST regime.