Even as the government said that the burden of increased fuel tax will not have to be borne by consumers, the cumulative increase in petrol and diesel prices in the last 20 days is Rs 8.87 and Rs 10.8 respectively.

Buying petrol in Delhi will cost you more than Rs 80 a litre as for the first time in the last two years, the petrol price has crossed Rs 80 per litre mark in the city. In the 20th successive hike in retail fuel rates, the oil companies hiked petrol price by 21 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre on Friday. Following the price hike, petrol is being sold at Rs 80.13 per litre while diesel is available at Rs 80.19 a litre in Delhi, according to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).

Even as the government said that the burden of increased fuel tax will not have to be borne by consumers, the cumulative increase in petrol and diesel prices in the last 20 days is Rs 8.87 and Rs 10.8 respectively. To take advantage of the low crude oil prices, the central government increased the excise duty and cess on petrol by Rs 10 per litre, and that on diesel by Rs 13 per litre.

Also Read: Diesel crosses Rs 80 per litre mark in Delhi: What will keep fuel cost rising even with low crude price

In Mumbai, petrol prices have surged to a level as high as Rs 86.91 per litre and diesel at Rs 78.51 a litre. While diesel prices in other cities are still less than that of petrol, it climbed to a record high in Delhi, exceeding the petrol prices for the first time in history on Wednesday. Though the fuel prices are already at an alarming level, relief in the near-term is not expected.  High taxes on petrol and diesel are dragging fuel prices to record levels and with the returning demand and increasing crude prices, the retail fuel price may further rise, said Sanjeev Singh, Chairman, IOCL.

Meanwhile, as cases related to coronavirus ballooned across the world and many countries imposed nationwide lockdown, the demand for crude oil dramatically fell, pulling down the crude oil prices. However, now when many countries are gradually uplifting the lockdown, the demand has started to rebound and the prices are moving towards normalcy.